HESI Comprehensive Exit Exam 2024/2025 Questions and Answers (100%Correct).
Enalapril maleate is prescribed for a hospitalized client. Which assessment
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the nurse perform as a priority before administering the medication?
Checking the client's blood pressure
Checking the client's peripheral pulses
Checking the most recent potassium level
Checking the client's intake-and-output record for the last 24 hours
(ANS- Checking the client's blood pressure
Rationale: Enalapril maleate is an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor
used to treat hypertension. One common side effect is postural hypotension.
Therefore the nurse would check the client's blood pressure immediately before
administering each dose. Checking the client's peripheral pulses, the results of the
most recent potassium level, and the intake and output for the previous 24 hours
are not specifically associated with this mediation.
A client is scheduled to undergo an upper gastrointestinal (GI) series, and the nurse
provides instructions to the client about the test. Which statement by the client
indicates a need for further instruction?
"The test will take about 30 minutes."
"I need to fast for 8 hours before the test."
"I need to drink citrate of magnesia the night before the test and give myself a Fleet
enema on the morning of the test."
"I need to take a laxative after the test is completed, because the liquid that I'll have
to drink for the test can be constipating."
(ANS- "I need to drink citrate of magnesia the night before the test and give myself
a Fleet enema on the morning of the test."
Rationale: No special preparation is necessary before a GI series, except that NPO
(nothing by mouth) status must be maintained for 8 hours before the test. An upper
GI series involves visualization of the esophagus, duodenum, and upper jejunum
by means of the use of a contrast medium. It involves swallowing a contrast
medium (usually barium), which is administered in a flavored milkshake. Films are
taken at intervals during the test, which takes about 30 minutes. After an upper GI
series, the client is prescribed a laxative to hasten elimination of the barium.
Barium that remains in the colon may become hard and difficult to expel, leading
to fecal impaction.
A nurse on the evening shift checks a primary health care provider's prescriptions
and notes that the dose of a prescribed medication is higher than the normal dose.
The nurse calls the primary health care provider's answering service and is told that
the primary health care provider is off for the night and will be available in the
morning. What should the nurse do next?
Call the nursing supervisor
Ask the answering service to contact the on-call primary health care provider
Withhold the medication until the primary health care provider can be reached in
the morning
Administer the medication but consult the primary health care provider when he
becomes available
(ANS- Ask the answering service to contact the on-call primary health care
provider
Rationale: The nurse has a duty to protect the client from harm. A nurse who
believes that a primary health care provider's prescription may be in error is
responsible for clarifying the prescription before carrying it out. Therefore the
nurse would not administer the medication; instead, the nurse would withhold the
medication until the dose can be clarified. The nurse would not wait until the next
morning to obtain clarification. It is premature to call the nursing supervisor.
An emergency department (ED) nurse is monitoring a client with suspected acute
myocardial infarction (MI) who is awaiting transfer to the coronary intensive care
unit. The nurse notes the sudden onset of premature ventricular contractions
(PVCs) on the monitor, checks the client's carotid pulse, and determines that the
PVCs are not perfusing. What is the nurse's most appropriate action?
Document the findings
Ask the ED primary health care provider to check the client
Continue to monitor the client's cardiac status
Inform the client that PVCs are expected after an MI
(ANS- Ask the ED primary health care provider to check the client
Rationale: The most appropriate action by the nurse would be to ask the ED health
care provider to check the client. PVCs are a result of increased irritability of
ventricular cells. Peripheral pulses may be absent or diminished with the PVCs
themselves because the decreased stroke volume of the premature beats may in
turn decrease peripheral perfusion. Because other rhythms also cause widened
QRS complexes, it is essential that the nurse determine whether the premature
beats are resulting in perfusion of the extremities. This is done by palpating the
carotid, brachial, or femoral artery while observing the monitor for widened
complexes or by auscultating for apical heart sounds. In the situation of acute MI,
PVCs may be considered warning dysrhythmias, possibly heralding the onset of
ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation. Therefore, the nurse would not
tell the client that the PVCs are expected. Although the nurse will continue to
monitor the client and document the findings, these are not the most appropriate
actions of those provided.
NPO status is imposed 8 hours before the procedure on a client scheduled to
undergo electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) at 1 p.m. On the morning of the
procedure, the nurse checks the client's record and notes that the client routinely
takes an oral antihypertensive medication each morning. What action should the
nurse take?
Administer the antihypertensive with a small sip of water
Withhold the antihypertensive and administer it at bedtime
Administer the medication by way of the intravenous (IV) route
Hold the antihypertensive and resume its administration on the day after the ECT
(ANS- Administer the antihypertensive with a small sip of water
Rationale: The nurse should administer the antihypertensive with a small sip of
water. General anesthesia is required for ECT, so NPO status is imposed for 6 to 8
hours before treatment to help prevent aspiration. Exceptions include clients who
routinely receive cardiac medications, antihypertensive agents, or histamine (H2)
blockers, which should be administered several hours before treatment with a small
sip of water. Withholding the antihypertensive and administering it at bedtime and
withholding the antihypertensive and resuming administration on the day after the
ECT are incorrect actions, because antihypertensives must be administered on
time; otherwise, the risk for rebound hypertension exists. The nurse would not
administer a medication by way of a route that has not been prescribed.
A client who recently underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgery comes to the
primary health care provider's office for a follow-up visit. On assessment, the
client tells the nurse that he is feeling depressed. Which response by the nurse is
therapeutic?
"Tell me more about what you're feeling."
"That's a normal response after this type of surgery."
"It will take time, but I promise you, you will get over this depression."
"Every client who has this surgery feels the same way for about a month."
(ANS- "Tell me more about what you're feeling."
Rationale: The therapeutic response by the nurse is, "Tell me more about what
you're feeling." When a client expresses feelings of depression, it is extremely
important for the nurse to further explore these feelings with the client. In stating,
"This is a normal response after this type of surgery" the nurse provides false
reassurance and avoids addressing the client's feelings. "It will take time, but I
promise you, you will get over the depression" is also a false reassurance, and it
does not encourage the expression of feelings. "Every client who has this surgery
feels the same way for about a month" is a generalization that avoids the client's
feelings. [Show Less]