Medical Tests Medical Tests Certifications CEN Questions & Answers

• Question 131:

  You are delegating to a licensed practical nurse (LPN) to wound care on a patient. The LPN has never performed this type of wound care before. What component of delegation have you neglected?

  A. Authority

  B. Competency

  C. Communication

  D. Responsibility

  Correct Answer: B

  You neglected to ensure that the LPN was competent to perform this skill. Therefore the RN must complete the care herself or find someone else who is competent to do so.

• Question 132:

  You are observing one of the RNs on the unit administer medication. What action by the nurse would lead you to conclude there is a risk for a medication error?

  A. Answering a physician's page while giving medication

  B. Documenting in military time

  C. Asking for help with calculations D. Holding a medication that the patient questions

  Correct Answer: A

  Answering the phone during medication administration puts the nurse at risk for making an error. It is important not to interrupt the process of administering medications to prevent error. All other options are correct ways of handling medication administration.

• Question 133:

  When a registered nurse (RN) decides to delegate care to unlicensed personnel, what should the RN take into consideration when delegating care?

  A. Amount of support from RN

  B. Complexity of nursing tasks

  C. Amount of time the staff member will need to complete care

  D. Capability of the staff member to perform assessments

  Correct Answer: B

  The RN needs to take the complexity of the nursing tasks into consideration when delegating care to unlicensed personnel. The nurse would need to consider the amount of education, skill, knowledge, and judgment of the unlicensed staff. The nurse would not consider the amount of support, but rather the amount of supervision that the staff member would need.

• Question 134:

  You are preparing the assignment for the day. You have one licensed practical nurse (LPN) and one unlicensed assistive staff member. Which of the following assignments would you not want to make?

  A. LPN to reinforce discharge instruction with a patient

  B. Unlicensed personnel to take vital signs and to document and report any changes

  C. Unlicensed personnel to assess effectiveness of pain medication

  D. LPN to remove dressing from an abdominal wound on a postoperative patient

  Correct Answer: C

  The unlicensed personnel should not be assigned to assess the effectiveness of pain medication; it is the responsibility of the RN to assess. LPNs can perform dressing changes and reinforce discharge instructions. Unlicensed personnel can take vital signs and document and report any changes.

• Question 135:

  Which of the following patients would the nurse want to delegate to unlicensed assistive personnel?

  A. A patient whose husband died and needs to talk

  B. A patient with a nasogastric feedings and foley catheter

  C. A patient with leakage from an ostomy

  D. An ambulatory patient who has been on the unit for 3 days

  Correct Answer: D

  The unlicensed assistive personnel should be assigned to the ambulatory patient who has been on the unit 3 days. The patient in D is the least complicated patient and does not have procedures that require licensed staff to complete. The other three patients require a high level of care and need a licensed staff member to provide this care.

• Question 136:

  You are preparing an in-service for the staff on delegation. What would you want to include on how delegation impacts safety and quality of patient care?

  A. It prevents staff from becoming ineffective and nonproductive.

  B. It utilizes appropriate resources, getting the job done in the most effective way.

  C. It gives nursing tasks to the staff members who can best understand the goals of treatment,

  D. It creates team work on the unit,

  Correct Answer: B

  Delegation is a way of getting the job done in the most effective way, while utilizing appropriate resources. The job must be delegated to the staff member who can accept the responsibility of the goal and achieve it. The other three options are incorrect.

• Question 137:

  There is a patient on the unit with herpes zoster. Which staff member would you avoid assigning to this patient?

  A. A nurse who has never had mumps

  B. A nurse who has never had chicken pox

  C. A nurse who has never had roseola

  D. A nurse who has never had German measles

  Correct Answer: B

  The nurse who has never had chicken pox should not be assigned to this patient. Herpes zoster is caused by the same virus that causes chicken pox; therefore, assigning this nurse to this patient would increase her chances of contracting chicken pox from the patient.

• Question 138:

  You are working with a child and suspect physical abuse. What is your primary legal responsibility?

  A. Document your assessment thoroughly and accurately.

  B. Report the abuse to local authorities.

  C. Refer the family to support groups.

  D. Assist the family in identifying resources and support systems.

  Correct Answer: B

  The nurse should report her suspicions to the local authorities so they can investigate. The law makes it mandatory to report any suspected child abuse. All other options are important in dealing with patient and the family, but they would not be the priority of the nurse.

• Question 139:

  You have received reports on the patients that you are assigned to. After assessing each of your patients, which would you want to provide care for first?

  A. An ambulatory patient who will be discharged today

  B. A patient who has begun to run a fever and is anxious and diaphoretic

  C. A patient who will receive physical therapy today

  D. A patient who has been given pain medication

  Correct Answer: B

  The patient who is now feverish, anxious and diaphoretic should be your first priority. This patient has the most immediate need. The other three patients do not have priority in the Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

• Question 140:

  You are caring for a patient who needs to go to surgery. The patient is unable to sign consent due to narcotic analgesic administration. Who should sign the consent for surgery?

  A. The family members should provide consent, and two witnesses will be necessary.

  B. A court order will be needed.

  C. The patient should go to surgery without consent.

  D. The hospital chaplain should sign consent.

  Correct Answer: A

  The nurse should call the family and get consent for the procedure. The nurse will need to have two witnesses available to sign. In emergency cases the physician is allowed to take a patient to surgery without consent if every effort has been made to contact the family.