If the client had been unresponsive except to painful stimuli, which new assessment finding indicates that the client is improving?
- A. Pupils are fixed when stimulated with light.
- B. Pupils are unequal when stimulated with light.
- C. Client's Glasgow Coma Scale score is 12.
- D. Stroking the cheek with a swab causes swallowing.
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: A Glasgow Coma Scale score of 12 indicates improved responsiveness compared to being unresponsive except to painful stimuli, suggesting neurological improvement.
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When is the best time to clip the client's hair?
- A. The night before surgery
- B. In the morning, after a shower
- C. Right before entering the operating room
- D. Before surgery, in the operating room area
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Clipping hair in the operating room area minimizes infection risk by reducing the time the scalp is exposed.
The nurse is caring for the client who has limited intake due to dysphagia following an ischemic stroke. Which serum laboratory result should the nurse review to verify that the client is dehydrated?
- A. Elevated serum creatinine
- B. Elevated blood urea nitrogen
- C. Decreased hemoglobin
- D. Decreased prealbumin
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The serum creatinine is elevated with renal insufficiency or renal failure. The BUN is elevated when the client is dehydrated due to the lack of fluid volume to excrete waste products. The Hgb is decreased with blood loss or anemia from nutritional deficiencies, not with dehydration. A decreased prealbumin indicates a nutritional deficiency.
The client is diagnosed with an SCI and is scheduled for a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. Which question would be most appropriate for the nurse to ask prior to taking the client to the diagnostic test?
- A. Do you have trouble hearing?'
- B. Are you allergic to any type of dairy products?'
- C. Have you eaten anything in the last eight (8) hours?'
- D. Are you uncomfortable in closed spaces?'
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: MRI scans require lying still in a confined space, so assessing for claustrophobia (D) is critical to ensure patient safety and comfort. Hearing issues (A), dairy allergies (B), and recent eating (C) are not relevant to MRI preparation.
The nurse is caring for the client who had a stroke affecting the right hemisphere of the brain. The nurse should assess for which problem initially?
- A. Right hemiparesis
- B. Expressive aphasia
- C. Poor impulse control
- D. Tetraplegia
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: A stroke affecting the right hemisphere may produce left, not right hemiparesis. Motor fibers in the brain cross over in the medulla before entering the spinal column. This client may or may not have aphasia because the center for language is located on the left side of the brain in 75% to 80% of the population; this client had a stroke involving the right hemisphere. Even though the client may have expressive aphasia, it is more important to assess for poor impulse control due to the risk for injury. The client with a stroke affecting the right side of the brain often exhibits impulsive behavior and is unaware of the neurological deficits. Poor impulse control increases the client’s risk for injury. Tetraplegia (quadriplegia) is associated with an SCI; tetraplegia usually does not occur from a stroke.
The nurse has written a care plan for a client diagnosed with a brain tumor. Which is an important goal regarding self-care deficit?
- A. The client will maintain body weight within two (2) pounds.
- B. The client will execute an advance directive.
- C. The client will be able to perform three (3) ADLs with assistance.
- D. The client will verbalize feeling of loss by the end of the shift.
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: A realistic goal for self-care deficit is performing ADLs with assistance (C), addressing functional limitations due to the tumor. Weight maintenance (A), advance directives (B), and verbalizing loss (D) are not directly related to self-care.
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