Upgrade to remove ads
Only $35.99/year

Safety Practice Questions

Terms in this set (26)

Which high school students should the nurse identify as having high risk for injury?

Students of small size with developing bodies

Students who cannot swim

Students with unsupervised time after school

Students with volatile tempers and poor problem-solving skills
Students with volatile tempers and poor problem-solving skills

Adolescents who experience emotional turmoil are at higher risk of injury (from suicide or risky behaviors) or diseases (such as depression or bulimia). Small size and developing bodies are risk factors for toddlers to be injured. Drowning, specifically in a bathtub, is a risk that infants are prone to, but all children who can't swim are at risk of drowning. Unsupervised time after school is an emotional and physical risk factor for school-age children; adolescents are safe at home alone after school due to their ability to seek help and perform activities of daily living independently.
A parent asks the nurse why toddlers are at high risk for accidental death and injuries.
Which reason should the nurse include in the response?

Their small size and developing bones make them vulnerable to injuries.

They are typically unsupervised by their parents.

Their lack of mobility makes them vulnerable to being dropped.

They are less dependent on parents than other age groups.
Their small size and developing bones make them vulnerable to injuries.

There are many reasons toddlers are vulnerable to injury and accidental death, but their physiological development (small size, developing bones) makes injuries more severe when accidents or hitting, pushing, and other injuries occur. Toddlers are typically supervised by their parents and are more dependent on their parents than their older peers. Lack of mobility describes infant development, not toddler development.
The nurse should understand that which personnel are responsible for ensuring that patients will not experience injury, harm, or death in a hospital setting?

Patient family

All hospital employees

Patient

Primary healthcare provider
All hospital employees

All employees are responsible for ensuring safety. The nurse is the last line of defense and the gatekeeper who ensures safety measures are in place and are followed. The primary care doctor is not usually involved in the hospitalization. The patient and family are definitely not to blame if a hospitalization is unsafe. The Joint Commission ensures compliance with national regulations, but day-to-day occurrences are the responsibility of the nurse and all hospital staff.
The nurse who is physically, mentally, and emotionally depleted states, "I just want to retire. I don't care anymore."
Which condition is the nurse experiencing?

Frustration

Cynicism

Poor attitude

Compassion fatigue
Compassion fatigue

The condition that the nurse is experiencing is known as compassion fatigue, a form of job burnout related to prolonged exposure to nursing job stressors. Observers need to recognize this syndrome, instead of misjudging the nurse's reactions as a poor attitude, cynicism, or frustration.
The school nurse is preparing to teach high school students how to prevent accidental death and injury.
Which type of injury should the nurse consider a priority?

Suicide

Motor vehicle crashes

Poisoning

Unintentional fall
Motor vehicle crashes

The primary cause for fatal injuries in adolescents is unintentional injuries from motor vehicle crashes. Causes for nonfatal injures in adolescents include unintentionally being hit up against something. Suicide and poisoning (from drug or alcohol overdose) are also causes of fatal injuries, but more deaths occur from motor vehicle crashes in this age group.
Which symptom in a patient should the nurse identify as an acute functional change?

Sudden numbness and weakness in a limb

Confusion and drowsiness

Excitability and agitation

Hypotension and diaphoresis
Sudden numbness and weakness in a limb

Acute functional changes in condition, such as those experienced during a stroke, include loss of feeling in a limb and paralysis. Acute physical changes in condition include hypotension and diaphoresis. Acute cognitive changes include confusion and drowsiness. Excitability and agitation are acute behavioral changes in condition.
Which action should the nurse identify as a component of standard precautions?

Scrubbing for 2 minutes and changing clothing before entering the hospital unit

Wearing a respirator, gloves, and gown to treat a patient with a contagious disease

Wearing gloves, gown, and a mask to treat a patient with a respiratory disease

Washing hands and donning gloves before administering an injection
Washing hands and donning gloves before administering an injection

Standard precautions are used with every patient. They include using hand hygiene, wearing gloves, and following safe injection practices. Isolation precautions involve hanging a sign outside the patient's room, as well as wearing gloves, gown, and a mask or respirator depending on the pathogen. Scrubbing for 2 minutes and changing clothing before entering the unit would be appropriate for a surgical or NICU unit, but standard precautions do not require scrubbing and changing garb.
The nurse is teaching a pregnant patient about measures to prevent injury to herself as well as the fetus.
Which recommendation should the nurse include?

Maintaining pre-pregnancy weight

Drinking alcohol

Gaining 50 lb

Smoking cessation
Smoking cessation

Smoking cessation is a prenatal care measure that prevents low birth weight, respiratory conditions, and perinatal mortality. Women should gain a moderate amount of weight during pregnancy, approximately 25—35 lb. Obesity or underweight compromise maternal and child health, and lead to macrosomia or growth restriction. Alcohol can harm the development of the fetus.
While performing patient care, the nurse notes an area of skin breakdown and excoriation along the area where the indwelling urinary catheter is affixed to the patient's inner thigh.
Which is the priority nursing intervention?

Change the catheter using one without latex

Dust the skin with cornstarch

Check the acidity level of the patient's urine

Cleanse the skin with soap and water
Change the catheter using one without latex

An allergy to latex is becoming more common in healthcare. Continuous use of products and items that contain latex increases a person's risk of developing a reaction. Some reactions are mild and cause skin irritation. Common items used in healthcare that can contain latex include catheters. The nurse should change the catheter using one without latex. Cleansing the skin with soap and water will not prevent further irritation from the latex. Dusting the skin with cornstarch could spread the latex to other areas of the body. The patient's skin is not breaking down because of high urine acidity. The catheter needs to be replaced with one that does not contain latex.
The nurse recommends removing scatter rugs, installing easy grip faucets, providing adequate lighting, and installing raised toilet seats in the patient's home.
Which is the rationale for these environmental safety improvements?

All these services are paid for by Medicare.

Promoting patient independence takes stress off caregivers.

They are paid for by insurance.

These services make the patient feel safe and secure.
These services make the patient feel safe and secure.

Best patient outcomes for a patient at home include remaining injury-free, feeling safe and secure, having control over thermoregulation, avoiding falls, and remaining unharmed. While some environmental safety changes may be covered by Medicare or insurance, the motive for making the changes is patient outcomes. Similarly, patient independence does take stress off caregivers, but the motive to make changes is the patient's best interests.
The nurse is teaching a class about drowning risks.
Which age group should the nurse explain as having the highest risk of drowning in a pool?

Infants

Toddlers

Ages 5-7 years

Ages 7-9 years
Toddlers

Toddlers have a higher risk of drowning in pools because they are mobile, whereas infants have a higher risk of drowning at home (in bathtubs, for example). Toddlers are more likely to drown than older peers because they have not yet learned to swim.
A healthcare provider refuses to prescribe opioids to a patient. The patient returns to the office and fatally shoots the healthcare provider.
This example of a fatality falls into which category?

A preventable death

An unfortunate occurrence

An occupational hazard

Workplace violence
Workplace violence

This fatal shooting is an example of workplace violence, which is any physical assault, threatening behavior, or verbal abuse occurring in the healthcare setting. Occupational hazard, unfortunate occurrence, and preventable death do not adequately describe this type of violence. The example involved a person trying to obtain opioids, and because it occurred at work it is considered workplace violence. Fatalities are included under the umbrella of workplace violence.
The nurse caring for a patient who has a chronic staph infection on their legs performs a home environmental assessment.
Which finding may be the cause of the infection?

Poor lighting in the kitchen

Old upholstery with years of accumulated dirt

Empty cupboards in the kitchen

Throw rugs in the walkways
Old upholstery with years of accumulated dirt

The purpose of a home health environment assessment is to assess safety risks for infection, malnutrition, and injury. Dirty upholstery is a risk for continued skin infections, particularly if the person's infected leg is often in contact with the furniture. Poor lighting and throw rugs present risks for falls, but not for staph infection. The empty cupboards suggest that the resident is malnourished.
The nurse is evaluating the success of actions taken to reduce the incidence of staff illnesses in the work area.
Which information best suggests that the actions have been successful?

Soap dispensers are refilled during the night shift.

Towels are hung to dry by the nurse in the patient bathrooms.

Every staff nurse has received the annual flu vaccination.

Paper towels are delivered daily on the supply cart.
Every staff nurse has received the annual flu vaccination.

Illnesses that are easily transmitted in the healthcare environment include the flu. If every staff nurse has received the annual flu vaccination, this can reduce the likelihood of illness. The supply of soap and paper towels does not ensure that the incidence of illnesses on the care area will decrease. Used patient towels should be placed in dirty linen or laundry and not dried for reuse. This could potentiate the spread of infection in the care area.
While removing a trash bag from the room of a patient in protective isolation, the nurse sustains a needlestick.
Which educational topic is a priority for nurses on the unit to discuss during the next staff meeting?

Technique to remove biohazard trash from isolation rooms

Appropriate disposal of used sharps

Personal protective equipment to wear when disposing of trash

Actions to take when exposed to contaminated sharps
Appropriate disposal of used sharps

Even though the safe handling of sharps and needles is an expectation for every healthcare professional, accident can occur because of staff not following proper disposal techniques. The issue was a needle placed in regular trash. A technique to remove biohazard trash from a patient's room will not address the problem. Reviewing personal protective equipment to wear when disposing of trash will not address the problem. Actions to take when exposed to contaminated sharps would not be necessary if all staff disposed of sharps appropriately.
Which rationale should the nurse understand is a patient-centered advantage of chemical restraints versus seclusion?

Staff can subdue a patient more quickly and easily using a chemical restraint.

It is easier on the staff to use drugs than to sit in a seclusion room and monitor the patient.

The patient treated with a chemical restraint maintains freedom of movement.

There are no side effects with chemical restraints.
The patient treated with a chemical restraint maintains freedom of movement.

The patient-centered advantage of using chemical restraints is that the patient is able to enjoy freedom of movement. While chemical restraints offer secondary advantages to the staff in some cases, this is never an ethical reason to choose this method of restraint over seclusion. After all, chemical restraints have side effects and require patients to receive shots, which most patients do not enjoy.
The nurse is caring for an older adult patient who walks with a cane and needs help with household chores.
Which type of decline represents the patient's current status?

Behavioral

Functional

Cognitive

Motivational
Functional

Impaired mobility and requiring assistance with activities of daily living, such as housework, are examples of functional decline that affect older adults. There is no evidence that this patient is experiencing cognitive decline, that his behavior has become disorganized, or that his motivation to perform activities of daily living has suffered.
The nurse is caring for a patient with a hearing impairment and with special needs.
Which safety measure should the nurse suggest to the family member of the patient?

Gait belt

Handrails

Audio books

Smoke detector that uses a light
Smoke detector that uses a light

The nurse will tailor the safety teaching to the specific special need. In this case, the patient with hearing impairment needs a smoke detector that uses a light instead of a sound to alert the patient regarding a fire. Audio books would be beneficial to the patient with visual impairment. Gait belts are appropriate for patients with physical disabilities.
An older patient tells the nurse, "I take the water pill and a red one every day, and after dinner I take a vitamin."
Which is a nursing intervention to safely reconcile the patient's home medications with those to be given in the hospital?

Asking a family member to bring in a list of the patient's medications with dosages

Administering the medications the hospital has prescribed

Contacting the patient's primary healthcare provider

Encouraging the patient to try to remember the names of the pills
Asking a family member to bring in a list of the patient's medications with dosages

The safest course of action is to obtain a complete list of the patient's medications and dosages from a family member. The nurse should not rely on the older adult patient to remember the names of pills. Contacting the primary care doctor is a good idea, but unfortunately the older adult may have problems with polypharmacy, and it is possible the patient has prescriptions from several doctors. The nurse should not ignore the need to reconcile medications, so administering the hospital's medications without reconciliation is inappropriate.
The nurse is caring for an adolescent who has aggressive behavior and an adolescent recovering from an attempted suicide.
The nurse should recognize that the patients most likely share which root cause for their behavior?

Emotional turmoil

Family fighting

Drugs and alcohol

Peer pressure
Emotional turmoil

Emotional turmoil is common during adolescence, and can be expressed either through aggression toward others or internalizing aggression toward self (suicide). Both patients' actions are rooted in emotional turmoil. There is no evidence that peer pressure, family fighting, or drugs and alcohol are involved in either or both of these cases.
The nurse smells fumes when one of the housekeeping staff spills a bottle of concentrated cleaner onto the floor.
Which action should the nurse perform?

Get a towel and place it over the spill so no one is at risk of slipping

Get a pail of water and dilute the concentrate with water so it is safe to remove

Find out how to safely dispose of the liquid

Tell the housekeeper to clean it up immediately and completely
Find out how to safely dispose of the liquid

The nurse should not take any action before obtaining information about any hazards involved and safe disposal of the chemical. Making housekeeping handle it without determining safe disposal increases the potential hazard of the situation, as does the nurse's efforts to intervene. The fact that the nurse smells fumes suggests that the chemical may be dangerous even if a towel is placed over it. Diluting the concentrate without determining safe disposal is unsafe and also introduces wet surfaces, creating a fall risk on the unit.
The nurse should identify which intervention as one that will reduce the risk of falls in the healthcare environment?

Keeping patients in a wheelchair whenever possible

Encouraging the use of the call button

Using restraints

Installing video cameras in every room
Encouraging the use of the call button

Encouraging use of the call button and making sure it is within reach is the single most important measure to prevent falls in hospital settings. When patients can express their needs, they are less likely to attempt to get out of bed unattended. Keeping patients in wheelchairs and using restraints can actually increase the risk of injury in some cases, and it presents ethical concerns if done for staff convenience and without a doctor's order. Installing video cameras in every room is expensive, and surveillance is not one of the primary measures used to prevent falls.
The nurse instructs parents not to allow a 6-year-old patient to race their younger sibling down the hospital halls.
Which is the primary reason behind this action?

To prevent disruption on the unit

To keep the children from disrupting other nurses

To prevent the patient from overexertion

To prevent injury to the patient and others
To prevent injury to the patient and others
A pregnant patient informs the nurse about her plans to rearrange their bedroom to make room for the baby.
Which safety teaching should the nurse provide?

"Eat a proper diet."

"Avoid moving heavy objects."

"Take prenatal vitamins."

"Drink enough fluids."
"Avoid moving heavy objects."
The nurse asks a family member of an older adult patient to bring in the patient's medicines that they take at home.
What is the nurse's primary purpose for this request?

Checking the expiration dates of the patient's medications

Providing the patient medications until the hospital can supply

Performing medication reconciliation

Saving the patient the cost of hospital medications
Performing medication reconciliation
The nurse observes an energetic coworker take narcotics from the dispensing system. The nurse also observes the coworker fail to administer medication to patients in pain and be short-tempered.
Which should the nurse suspect about the coworker?

The coworker is tired.

The coworker is impaired and unable to work safely.

The coworker has the flu.

The coworker is conducting patient care appropriately.
The coworker is impaired and unable to work safely.
Students also viewed