Medical Tests CEN Online Practice Questions and Exam Preparation

Medical Tests CEN Online Questions & Answers

• Question 51:

  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
  C. Unlicensed personnel to assess effectiveness of pain medication

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  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 52:

  You are caring for a patient in hypovalemic shock who will require plasma expansion. What do you suspect the physician will order?

  A. Cryoprecipitate
  B. Packed red blood cells
  C. Albumin
  D. Platelets
  C. Albumin

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  Albumin would be given as a plasma expander. Cryoprecipitate is used with hemophilia patients who are bleeding because it is rich in clotting factors. Platelets are used on patients who have a low platelet count and packed red blood cells are given to replace erythrocytes.

• Question 53:

  You are caring for a patient who complains of tinnitus. What part of the ear do you suspect is the most likely cause of the patient's complaint?

  A. External ear
  B. Middle ear
  C. Inner ear
  D. Auricle
  C. Inner ear

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  Tinnitus is the most common complaint of patients with disorders of the inner ear. Tinnitus is a ringing in the ear that can be loud intolerable ringing or mild ringing that can be unnoticed during the day.

• Question 54:

  You are preparing to give an intravenous dose of 400,000 units of penicillin G benzathine (Bicillin). The 10 mL ampule label reads penicillin G benzathine 300,000 units per mL. You prepare to administer how much of the medication?

  A. 1.3 mL
  B. 1.5 mL
  C. 10 mL
  D. 13 mL
  A. 1.3 mL

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  The nurse would administer 1.3 mL of penicillin G benzathine.

  Desired dose: 400,000 units

  Available concentration: 300,000 units (Units) per 1 mL (Volume)

• Question 55:

  You are caring for a patient with second- and third-degree burns who is getting fluid intravenously. What would you assess to determine if the patient is getting adequate fluid?

  A. Vital signs
  B. Urine output
  C. Peripheral pulses
  D. Mental status
  B. Urine output

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  The most reliable source of fluid resuscitation is urine output. The normal urine output of an adult should be 30 to 50 ml per hour. Vital signs, peripheral pulses and mental status should all be normal if adequate fluid is being administered.

• Question 56:

  You are caring for a patient who is in diabetic ketoacidosis. You observe the patient in Kussmaul respiration. What are Kussmaul respirations?

  A. Abnormally deep, regular and increased respirations
  B. Regular, slow respirations
  C. Labored, increased respirations
  D. Short periods of apnea
  A. Abnormally deep, regular and increased respirations

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  The patient who is having Kussmaul respirations would have abnormally deep, regular and increased respirations. Bradypnea would produce regular, slow respirations. Hyperpnea is labored, increased respirations, and apnea is when a patient stops breathing for short periods of time.

• Question 57:

  You are helping out at a local health fair when a patient admits to you that he does not eat a well-balanced diet. Which of the following would be a correct statement about the Food Guide Pyramid?

  A. 6 to 11 servings of bread, cereal, pasta, or rice a day
  B. 2 to 3 servings of vegetables a day
  C. 4 to 5 servings of milk, yogurt or cheese a day
  D. 4 to 6 servings of meat, poultry, fish, dry beans or nuts a day
  A. 6 to 11 servings of bread, cereal, pasta, or rice a day

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  The correct diet to recommend based on the Food Guide Pyramid would include 6 to 11 servings of bread, cereal, pasta or rice a day. Vegetables is 3 to 5 servings, diary products is 2 to 3, and meat and beans is 2 to 3 per day.

• Question 58:

  You are caring for a patient who had a radical neck dissection. The endotracheal tube has just been removed. Which of the following signs would you want to report to the physician immediately?

  A. Stridor
  B. Occasional pink-tinged sputum
  C. Respiratory rate of 24 breaths a minute
  D. Basilar crackles on the right side
  A. Stridor

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  The physician will need to be notified if the patient develops stridor. Stridor is a high-pitched, coarse sound heard over the trachea. This is an indication of airway edema, which puts the patient at risk for airway blockage.

• Question 59:

  Your patient was brought to the emergency department by the police. He has serious lacerations on both wrists. What would the nurse's first priority be?

  A. Examine and treat both wounds.
  B. Get a complete history from the patient.
  C. Work with the patient to discuss feelings.
  D. Give anti-anxiety medication.
  A. Examine and treat both wounds.

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  The first priority of the nurse would be the wounds on the patient's wrists. The other interventions would follow after the wounds have been treated. The wounds on the patient's wrists could be life threatening.

• Question 60:

  You are completing a hearing screening on a patient. You note that the sound lateralizes to the patient's left ear during a Weber test. What does this finding indicate?

  A. A normal finding
  B. Conductive hearing loss in the right ear
  C. Sensorineural or conductive loss
  D. Presence of nystagmus
  C. Sensorineural or conductive loss

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  This test indicates sensorineural or conductive loss in the right ear. The Weber test is done by placing a vibrating tuning fork at the middle of the forehead. The patient should hear sound by bone conduction equally in both ears; if not, then the patient has hearing loss in the ear that did not hear the sound.