mental health nclex questions Flashcards
The daughter of a severely depressed patient asks the nurse “What do you think about the relationship between depression and physical illness? Since my mother has been grieving over my father’s death, she has had colds, shingles, and the flu, and she’s usually not one to get sick.” The answer that best reflects the current thinking about psychoimmunology is:
emotions and stress interfere with wbc production and can increase possiblilty of getting infectious disease
A nurse who leads group therapy for a group of depressed patients plans to implement a plan of exercise for each patient. The rationale to use when presenting this plan to the treatment team is that exercise?
has an antidepressant effect comparable to ssri,s
A patient reports that financial problems are stressing his marriage. Today he heard rumors about impending cutbacks at work, and he fears he will be laid off. He is wringing his hands, has a pulse rate of 112/minute, respirations are 26/minute, and his blood pressure is 166/88 instead of being his usual 110-120/76-84 range. Which nursing intervention or recommendation should be used first?
slow and deepened breathing while using a positive, slow repeated word
A patient who had been complaining of intolerable stress at work has demonstrated the ability to use progressive muscle relaxation and deep breathing techniques. He will return to the clinic for follow- up evaluation in 2 weeks. Which data will best suggest that the patient is successfully using these techniques to cope more effectively with stress?
his systolic blood pressure has gone from the 140s to the 120s
A secretary is asked by her boss to take on additional work. She initially agrees but feels resentful. A day later when the boss asks for the completed work, the secretary explains that she has been working on another priority job and hasn’t been able to complete it. When asked several hours later, she states someone else was using the files, so she hasn’t been able to do the necessary research before typing the report. The secretary’s behavior demonstrates?
rationalization
A patient reports that nothing is wrong with him except a chest cold he’s had for a couple weeks that ‘hasn’t been able to shake off.” His wife is very worried and says he smokes, coughs a lot, has lost 15 pounds, and is easily fatigued. Which of the following statements best describes this situation?
patient is using denial to cope
While working with an anxious patient, the nurse begins to feel tense and jittery and notices that she is having difficulty concentrating on what the patient is telling her. How can this be explained? The nurse is experiencing?
contagious anxiety
A patient accompanied her boyfriend to the emergency department after the two had been in a motorcycle accident. The boyfriend was badly hurt, but the patient had only minor cuts and bruises and was discharged. She mentioned to the nurse that since she was driving, she should have been the one to be injured. twenty-four hours later, while visiting her boyfriend, the patient reported that she was unable to move from her chair and unable to walk. Diagnostic workup revealed no physical reason for the problem. The anxiety relief behavior the patient is demonstrating is?
conversion
Two staff nurses were considered for promotion. The promotion was announced by a memo on the unit belletin board. When the nurse hwo was not promoted first read the memo and learned that the other nurse had received the promotion, she left the room in tears. This behavior is an example of?
regression
A patient tells the nurse, “My new friend is the most perfect person one could imagine! I can’t find a single flaw. He is kind , considerate, handsome – and he puts me before anyone or anything else.” The nurse should hypothesize that htis patient may be demonstrating?
splitting
A patient who is a university student states that before taking an examination he feels a heightened sense of awareness and a sense of restlessness. The nurse should assess the patient’s situation as:
mild anxiety
The nurse caring for a patient who has been diagnosed as having generalized anxiety disorder tells a preceptor, “I find myself feeling uncomfortable and anxious around the patient. When he starts trembling and perspiring and pacing, I find myself with cold, clammy hands, and my pulse races. I start worrying whether I will be able to help him stay in control.” In such an interaction, the patient will most likely experience?
increased anxiety
A nursing student asks to be excused from a required group presentation. He reveals that he is afraid that he will “mess up” and that others will laugh at him.. He reports significant dread at the thought of any public presentation, accompanied often by nausea and vomiting when such situations occurred in the past. He reports he was unable to go to prom because he cannot dance well and feared he would be teased or become physically ill. This history suggest the presence of a?
social phobia
An insurance agent who is sitting in his office after returning from a cardiovascular examination in which he was pronounced “in good health” suddenly experiences a feeling of terror. His heart pounds, he feels as though he cannot breathe, and he cannot focus on what is being said to him. Several earlier episodes (for which he was seen in the emergency room, without any findings of cardiovascular disease) and the fear of their repetition had prompted the visit to the doctor for a more thorough evaluation. This experience should be assessed as a possible:
panic attack
A nurse is counseling a patient with an anxiety disorder by using cognitive therapy strategies. She gives the patient a homework assignment to keep a diary in which he records the symptoms of anxiety he experiences and the events that transpired just before the onset of symptoms. What is the rationale for this strategy?
link symptoms with precipitating events which provides a basis for discussion and framing
