Question

A nurse is caring for a client.

Answer 1

Correct Answers

Blank 1 Correct Option: "What are you hearing?"
Blank 2 Correct Option: check for the presence of auditory hallucinations

Rationale :

🔷 The client’s sudden mumbling behavior and eye tracking toward the ceiling suggest that the client may be responding to internal stimuli, which is commonly associated with auditory hallucinations.

🔷 Asking “What are you hearing?” is an open-ended, therapeutic, and nonjudgmental question that helps the nurse directly assess whether hallucinations are occurring.

🔷 This question allows the client to describe their experience without the nurse assuming, denying, or reinforcing the hallucination.

🔷 Assessing hallucinations is extremely important because some hallucinations may include command voices instructing the client to harm themselves or others.

🔷 The nurse must first determine the nature, content, frequency, and intensity of the hallucinations before deciding on further interventions.

🔷 By using calm and direct communication, the nurse promotes trust and encourages the client to share information safely.

🔷 Early assessment also helps determine whether the client’s condition is worsening despite initially reporting they were “not hearing voices.”

🔷 This approach follows therapeutic communication principles by focusing on assessment first before teaching, confrontation, or coping strategies.

❌ “Do the voices bother you?”

❌ This question assumes that the client is definitely hearing voices, even though the nurse has not yet confirmed the presence of hallucinations.

❌ Making assumptions can interfere with accurate assessment and may unintentionally reinforce psychotic thinking.

❌ The nurse should first determine whether the client is experiencing hallucinations before exploring how distressing they are.

❌ If the client is not hearing voices, this question may create confusion or damage trust in communication.

❌ Therapeutic nursing care requires gathering objective assessment data before moving into emotional processing or symptom management.

❌ Although understanding whether hallucinations are distressing is important later, it is not the priority initial nursing action in this situation.

❌ assist the client in coping with their hallucinations

❌ Helping the client cope with hallucinations is an appropriate nursing intervention only after the nurse has first confirmed that hallucinations are occurring.

❌ Coping interventions may include distraction techniques, listening to music, reality-based conversation, or identifying triggers, but assessment must occur first.

❌ The nurse cannot effectively plan coping strategies without understanding the type and severity of the hallucinations.

❌ Immediate assumptions about hallucinations may lead to inappropriate interventions or missed safety concerns.

❌ The priority at this moment is accurate assessment of the client’s neurological and psychiatric status.

❌ Once hallucinations are confirmed, the nurse can then move toward helping the client manage or reduce distress from the symptoms.

❌ explain to the client their experience is not reality

❌ Directly telling the client that the hallucination is not real too early in the interaction may make the client feel misunderstood, dismissed, or defensive.

❌ Clients experiencing hallucinations often perceive them as very real, and blunt confrontation can damage therapeutic rapport.

❌ Therapeutic communication focuses on acknowledging the client’s feelings without validating the hallucination itself.

❌ A better nursing response is to calmly assess what the client is experiencing while maintaining reality-based communication.

❌ Once assessment is complete, the nurse may later help the client focus on reality and develop coping strategies in a supportive manner.

❌ Immediate confrontation is not the priority during the initial assessment phase of psychiatric nursing care.

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Answer 2

Correct Answers

Blank 1 Correct Option: self-harm
Blank 2 Correct Option: feelings of hopelessness

Rationale :

✅ Blank 1: Self-harm

🔷 Self-harm is the priority risk because the client verbalizes feeling “sad and hopeless,” which is a major warning sign for suicidal thinking or self-injury risk.

🔷 The client has several concerning depressive symptoms, including social withdrawal, poor hygiene, low appetite, excessive sleeping, loss of interest, and hopelessness.

🔷 Hopelessness is especially important because it can indicate that the client may not see a future or may feel that their situation cannot improve.

🔷 A newly admitted client with worsening depression should be assessed immediately for suicidal ideation, intent, plan, access to means, and previous attempts.

🔷 The nurse should prioritize safety by maintaining close observation, removing harmful items if indicated, and notifying the mental health provider of suicide-risk concerns.

🔷 The client’s previous depression after losing their parents also shows a history of severe emotional distress, increasing the need for careful safety assessment.

🔷 Even though the client does not directly state suicidal intent, the phrase “hopeless” is significant enough to trigger further suicide-risk screening.

✅ Blank 2: Feelings of hopelessness

🔶 Feelings of hopelessness are the strongest supporting evidence for self-harm risk in this scenario.

🔶 Hopelessness is more concerning than sadness alone because it reflects a belief that circumstances will not improve.

🔶 In depression, hopelessness is strongly associated with suicidal ideation and self-harm risk.

🔶 The client’s statement, “I just feel so sad and hopeless right now,” directly supports the selected risk.

🔶 The nurse should respond with a direct safety assessment such as, “Are you having thoughts of hurting yourself?”

🔶 The nurse should not avoid asking about self-harm because direct questioning does not create suicidal thoughts; it helps identify risk and promote safety.

❌ Why the other Blank 1 options are not best

❌ Powerlessness

❌ The client may feel powerless because they are withdrawn, sad, and not functioning well, but the most urgent concern is safety.

❌ Powerlessness refers to feeling a lack of control over life circumstances, which may occur with depression.

❌ However, the client’s direct report of hopelessness raises a stronger concern for self-harm risk.

❌ In psychiatric nursing, safety risks are prioritized before psychosocial nursing diagnoses.

❌ Disturbed thought process

❌ Disturbed thought process is more consistent with hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thinking, paranoia, or impaired reality testing.

❌ The client’s notes do not show hallucinations, bizarre beliefs, loose associations, or confusion.

❌ The client is depressed and withdrawn, but their thoughts are not described as psychotic or disorganized.

❌ This option is not the best match for the data provided.

❌ Insomnia

❌ The client is sleeping excessively rather than having difficulty sleeping.

❌ The notes show the client asked to return to the room to sleep and slept for 1 hour shortly after breakfast.

❌ Excessive sleeping may be a symptom of depression, but it does not support insomnia.

❌ This option does not fit the assessment findings.

❌ Why the other Blank 2 options are not best

❌ Inadequate nutrition

❌ The client ate only one bite of toast, which does suggest poor intake and should be monitored.

❌ However, inadequate nutrition is not the strongest reason for self-harm risk.

❌ Nutrition is important, but the immediate psychiatric safety concern is the client’s hopelessness.

❌ The nurse should assess food intake while prioritizing suicide-risk assessment.

❌ Inappropriate thought process

❌ The client’s thought process is not described as inappropriate, disorganized, delusional, or psychotic.

❌ The client’s statements are sad and hopeless but still logical and connected to depressive symptoms.

❌ This does not support disturbed thought process as the primary concern.

❌ An unkempt appearance

❌ The client’s stained shirt, wrinkled clothes, and lack of bathing show poor self-care related to depression.

❌ This finding supports impaired functioning but does not carry the same immediate safety concern as hopelessness.

❌ Unkempt appearance may indicate worsening depression, but it is not the best direct cause of self-harm risk.

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Answer 3

Correct Answers:

Contractions of the jaw

Rationale :

🔷 Thioridazine is a first-generation antipsychotic, which can cause extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS).

🔷 Jaw contractions can indicate acute dystonia, a type of EPS involving sudden, involuntary muscle spasms.

🔷 Dystonia may affect the face, jaw, tongue, neck, or back and can be frightening for the client.

🔷 The nurse should document the finding and notify the provider because treatment may include an anticholinergic medication such as benztropine or diphenhydramine.

🔷 EPS is important to recognize early because severe dystonia can interfere with swallowing or airway safety.

❌ Waxy flexibility

❌ Waxy flexibility is associated with catatonia, not a typical medication adverse effect of thioridazine.

❌ Anhedonia

❌ Anhedonia means inability to experience pleasure and is a negative symptom of schizophrenia, not an adverse effect.

❌ Incongruent affect

❌ Incongruent affect is an emotional expression that does not match the situation and is a psychiatric symptom, not a thioridazine adverse effect.

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Answer 4

Correct Answers:

12.5

Rationale :

🔷 Formula:

mL to administer = Dose ordered ÷ Dose available × mL available

🔷 Step 1: Identify the order and supply

Ordered dose = 25 mg

Available dose = 10 mg per 5 mL

🔷 Step 2: Substitute into the formula

25 ÷ 10 × 5

🔷 Step 3: Solve

2.5 × 5 = 12.5

✅ The nurse should administer 12.5 mL.

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Answer 5

Correct Answers:

A prescription for the restraints must be renewed every 8 hr for adult clients.

Rationale :

🔶 Physical restraints require a provider prescription and must follow strict safety and legal guidelines.

🔶 For adult clients, restraint prescriptions are commonly time-limited and must be renewed according to policy, often every 8 hours.

🔶 Restraints should only be used when less restrictive interventions have failed and the client is at risk of harming self or others.

🔶 The nurse must monitor circulation, skin integrity, breathing, elimination needs, hydration, nutrition, and range of motion.

🔶 Restraints should never be used for staff convenience, punishment, or routine behavior control.

❌ Apply physical restraints prior to administering a chemical restraint.

❌ The least restrictive intervention should be used first, and restraints are not automatically applied before medication.

❌ Complete an incident report if physical restraints are needed.

❌ Applying restraints with a valid order is not automatically an incident requiring an incident report.

❌ A seizure disorder is a contraindication for the use of physical restraints.

❌ A seizure disorder is not an absolute contraindication, but restraints must be used carefully to prevent injury.

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Answer 6

Correct Answers:

Ask the client if they are experiencing thoughts of self-harm.

Rationale :

💎 Safety is the first priority when caring for a client in crisis.

💎 The nurse should assess immediately for self-harm or suicidal thoughts because crisis can impair coping and increase risk for impulsive actions.

💎 Directly asking about self-harm does not create suicidal thoughts; it helps identify danger and protect the client.

💎 If risk is present, the nurse should stay with the client, remove hazards, notify the provider, and initiate safety precautions.

💎 Other supportive interventions are helpful only after immediate safety is assessed.

❌ Encourage the client to be transparent when communicating.

❌ Open communication is helpful, but it does not address immediate safety first.

❌ Advise the client to maintain their usual routines.

❌ Routine can support coping later, but the first action is to assess self-harm risk.

❌ Teach the client about relaxation techniques.

❌ Relaxation techniques may help anxiety, but teaching is not the priority before safety assessment.

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Answer 7

Correct Answers:

Seizures

Rationale :

🟣 Alcohol withdrawal can cause tremors, anxiety, diaphoresis, nausea, insomnia, tachycardia, hypertension, hallucinations, and seizures.

🟣 Seizures may occur within the first 6 to 48 hours after the last drink and are a serious complication.

🟣 Severe withdrawal can progress to delirium tremens, which includes confusion, agitation, fever, hallucinations, and autonomic instability.

🟣 The nurse should monitor vital signs, seizure risk, hydration, electrolytes, and withdrawal severity using a tool such as CIWA-Ar.

🟣 Benzodiazepines are commonly used to prevent seizures and manage withdrawal symptoms.

❌ Rhinorrhea

❌ Rhinorrhea is more commonly associated with opioid withdrawal, not alcohol withdrawal.

❌ Hyperglycemia

❌ Hyperglycemia is not a classic expected finding of alcohol withdrawal.

❌ Hypotension

❌ Alcohol withdrawal more commonly causes hypertension and tachycardia due to autonomic hyperactivity.

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Answer 8

Correct Answers:

A toddler who has cerebral palsy

Rationale :

🔷 Children with disabilities or chronic health needs are at increased risk for maltreatment because they may require more caregiving time, supervision, physical assistance, and emotional patience.

🔷 A toddler with cerebral palsy may have mobility limitations, feeding difficulties, communication challenges, or developmental delays that can increase caregiver stress.

🔷 Young children are especially vulnerable because they depend completely on adults for safety, care, and protection.

🔷 The nurse should assess family support, caregiver coping, access to resources, and signs of neglect or injury.

🔷 The goal is not to blame the caregiver, but to identify risk early and connect the family with support services.

❌ A school-age child whose parent has generalized anxiety disorder

❌ A parent’s anxiety disorder alone does not automatically place the child at the highest risk for maltreatment.

❌ Risk increases more when mental illness is untreated, severe, associated with substance use, or causes impaired caregiving.

❌ A preschooler whose parents report the child often says “no”

❌ Saying “no” is a normal developmental behavior in preschool-age children as they develop independence.

❌ Normal limit-testing does not by itself indicate increased maltreatment risk.

❌ An adolescent who requests contraception

❌ Requesting contraception can reflect responsible health-seeking behavior.

❌ It does not automatically indicate maltreatment, although the nurse should still assess safety, consent, coercion, and age-related legal concerns when appropriate.

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Answer 9

Correct Answers:

"Imagine things that make you feel good."

Rationale :

💎 Guided imagery is a relaxation technique that uses calming mental images to reduce anxiety and stress.

💎 For an adolescent with anorexia nervosa, relaxation strategies can help manage emotional distress without relying on food restriction or excessive exercise.

💎 Imagining peaceful or positive scenes can lower tension, improve coping, and support emotional regulation.

💎 This technique is safe and appropriate in an inpatient setting because it does not reinforce harmful eating-disorder behaviors.

💎 The nurse should encourage coping skills that promote calmness, self-awareness, and recovery.

❌ “Take shallow breaths to reduce feelings of stress.”

❌ Shallow breathing can worsen anxiety and may contribute to dizziness or hyperventilation.

❌ Relaxation breathing should focus on slow, deep, controlled breaths.

❌ “Avoid writing down your feelings when you are experiencing stress.”

❌ Journaling can help clients identify emotions, triggers, and coping patterns.

❌ Avoiding emotional expression may increase distress.

❌ “Continue your previous exercise routine while on the unit.”

❌ Excessive exercise can be part of anorexia nervosa and may worsen weight loss or medical instability.

❌ Exercise should be supervised and prescribed by the treatment team.

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Answer 10

Correct Answers:

The client is experiencing command hallucinations.

Rationale :

🔶 Command hallucinations are the priority because they may tell the client to harm themselves or others.

🔶 The nurse must immediately assess what the voices are saying, whether the client feels compelled to obey them, and whether the client has access to means.

🔶 Safety is the first priority in psychiatric nursing, especially when hallucinations involve commands.

🔶 The nurse should stay calm, maintain safety, reduce stimuli, notify the provider, and follow facility protocols for suicide or violence precautions if indicated.

🔶 Command hallucinations represent a higher immediate risk than non-command delusions or flat affect.

❌ The client refuses to eat breakfast, stating, “The food is poisoned.”

❌ This statement suggests a paranoid delusion and requires assessment, support, and safety monitoring.

❌ It is concerning, but command hallucinations are more urgent because they may involve immediate danger.

❌ The client states, “Everyone is out to get me.”

❌ This reflects paranoid thinking and should be addressed therapeutically.

❌ However, it does not automatically indicate the same immediate risk as command hallucinations.

❌ The client displays flat affect in conversations with staff.

❌ Flat affect is a negative symptom commonly seen in schizophrenia and other mental health disorders.

❌ It is important to document, but it is not the priority over a potential safety threat.

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RN Mental Health 2023- 2026

No.

1 :
A nurse is caring for a client.

Correct Answers

2 :
A behavioral health unit nurse is caring for a newly admitted client.

Correct Answers

3 :
A nurse is assessing a newly admitted client who has schizophrenia and takes thioridazine. Which of the following findings should the nurse document as an adverse effect of this medication?

4 :
A nurse is preparing to administer methylphenidate 25 mg PO to a school-age child who has ADHD. Available is methylphenidate 10 mg/5 mL liquid. How many mL should the nurse administer? (Round the answer to the nearest tenth. Use a leading zero if it applies. Do not use a trailing zero.)

5 :
A nurse is teaching a newly licensed nurse about the use of physical restraints. Which of the following directions should the nurse include in the teaching?

6 :
A nurse is caring for a client who is experiencing a crisis. Which of the following actions should the nurse take first?

7 :
A nurse is assessing a client who has alcohol use disorder and is experiencing withdrawal. Which of the following findings should the nurse expect?

8 :
A nurse is caring for a group of children in a clinic. Which of the following children should the nurse identify as being at an increased risk for child maltreatment?

9 :
A nurse on an inpatient mental health unit is teaching an adolescent client who has anorexia nervosa about relaxation techniques. Which of the following statements should the nurse make?

10 :
A nurse is caring for a client on an inpatient mental health unit. Which of the following findings is the nurse's priority?

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RN Mental Health 2023- 2026

No.

1 : A nurse is caring for a client.

Correct Answers

2 : A behavioral health unit nurse is caring for a newly admitted client.

Correct Answers

3 : A nurse is assessing a newly admitted client who has schizophrenia and takes thioridazine. Which of the following findings should the nurse document as an adverse effect of this medication?

4 : A nurse is preparing to administer methylphenidate 25 mg PO to a school-age child who has ADHD. Available is methylphenidate 10 mg/5 mL liquid. How many mL should the nurse administer? (Round the answer to the nearest tenth. Use a leading zero if it applies. Do not use a trailing zero.)

5 : A nurse is teaching a newly licensed nurse about the use of physical restraints. Which of the following directions should the nurse include in the teaching?

6 : A nurse is caring for a client who is experiencing a crisis. Which of the following actions should the nurse take first?

7 : A nurse is assessing a client who has alcohol use disorder and is experiencing withdrawal. Which of the following findings should the nurse expect?

8 : A nurse is caring for a group of children in a clinic. Which of the following children should the nurse identify as being at an increased risk for child maltreatment?

9 : A nurse on an inpatient mental health unit is teaching an adolescent client who has anorexia nervosa about relaxation techniques. Which of the following statements should the nurse make?

10 : A nurse is caring for a client on an inpatient mental health unit. Which of the following findings is the nurse's priority?

1 :
A nurse is caring for a client.

2 :
A behavioral health unit nurse is caring for a newly admitted client.

3 :
A nurse is assessing a newly admitted client who has schizophrenia and takes thioridazine. Which of the following findings should the nurse document as an adverse effect of this medication?

4 :
A nurse is preparing to administer methylphenidate 25 mg PO to a school-age child who has ADHD. Available is methylphenidate 10 mg/5 mL liquid. How many mL should the nurse administer? (Round the answer to the nearest tenth. Use a leading zero if it applies. Do not use a trailing zero.)

5 :
A nurse is teaching a newly licensed nurse about the use of physical restraints. Which of the following directions should the nurse include in the teaching?

6 :
A nurse is caring for a client who is experiencing a crisis. Which of the following actions should the nurse take first?

7 :
A nurse is assessing a client who has alcohol use disorder and is experiencing withdrawal. Which of the following findings should the nurse expect?

8 :
A nurse is caring for a group of children in a clinic. Which of the following children should the nurse identify as being at an increased risk for child maltreatment?

9 :
A nurse on an inpatient mental health unit is teaching an adolescent client who has anorexia nervosa about relaxation techniques. Which of the following statements should the nurse make?

10 :
A nurse is caring for a client on an inpatient mental health unit. Which of the following findings is the nurse's priority?