CEN Online Practice Questions and Answers

Correct Answer: C

You would want to perform visual acuity tests on the affected eye first. This allows the nurse to assess any damage to the vision. Any foreign objects in the eye should only be removed by an ophthalmologist. Do not cover or rinse eye because it may dislodge foreign objects and cause further damage to the eye.

Correct Answer: A

The nurse would pull the pinna up and back before inserting the speculum, holding the head slightly away and holding the otoscope upside down like a large pen. The other three options are incorrect.

Correct Answer: A

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.

Correct Answer: A

Slander is when something untrue is said about a person that results in injury to that person's good name. Libel would be when something untrue is written about a person that results in injury to the person's good name. The nursing assistant was spreading gossip, not fact, about the secretary, leading to injury to her good name.

Correct Answer: D

Confabulation is when a patient fabricates events or experiences to fill in the gaps in memory. This is common with dementia patients. Dementia varies from the development of mild cognitive symptoms to more severe alterations in neurological functions. These more severe alterations can become life-threatening.

Correct Answer: D

The patient giving away her most prized possessions can be an indication that she is suicidal. The patient is saying good-bye with this gesture and hoping that someone will remember them when they are gone. This patient needs to be observed closely at this time to insure that they remain safe.

Correct Answer: D

The nurse should instruct the patient to perform the Valsalva's maneuver (take a deep breathe, exhale and bear down). Then the tube would be quickly removed and an airtight dressing placed. An alternative would be to ask the patient to take a deep breathe and hold the breath while the tube is removed.

Correct Answer: B

Diminished breath sounds would indicate a pneumothorax. Other symptoms might be shortness of breath and chest pain. If it is a large pneumothorax, the nurse may see tachypnea, cyanosis and subcutaneous emphysema.

Correct Answer: B

A therapeutic theophylline level is 15 mcg/ml. The normal range is 10 to 20 mcg/ml. Anything greater than 20 is considered toxic, meaning that the patient will start having side effects. Anything less than 10 indicates that the patient needs additional medication.

Correct Answer: A

Of the above listed conditions, the patient with alcoholism would be most likely to have a phosphorus level of 2.0 mg/dL. A normal phosphorus level is 2.7 to 4.5 mg/dL. Malnutrition or starvation and the use of aluminum hydroxide-based antacids can also be causes of low phosphorus levels. The other three conditions are more likely to cause hyperphosphatemia.