Teaching & Learning / Patient Education

A client comes to the physician's office for treatment of severe sunburn. The nurse takes this opportunity to discuss the importance of protecting the skin from the sun's damaging rays. What is the appropriate teaching by the nurse to prevent skin damage?

"Apply sunscreen even on overcast days."

The nurse reviews discharge instructions with a client who underwent a left groin cardiac catheterization 8 hours ago. Which instructions should the nurse include?

"Do not bend at the waist, strain, or lift heavy objects for the next 24 hours."

A physician orders metaproterenol by metered-dose inhalation four times daily for a client with acute bronchitis. Which statement by the client indicates effective teaching about this medication?

"I need to hold my breath as long as possible after I take a deep inhalation."

A client, who has undergone a percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), has received discharge instructions. Which statement by the client would indicate the need for further teaching by the nurse?

"I should expect a low-grade fever and swelling at the site for the next week."

The nurse is educating a client about the care related to a new diagnosis of mitral valve prolapse. What statement made by the client demonstrates understanding of the teaching?

"I will avoid caffeine, alcohol, and smoking."

The nurse instructs a client with Raynaud phenomenon on actions to improve the symptoms. Which client statement indicates the need for additional instruction?

"I will limit the amount of cigarettes I smoke."

A client is scheduled for an ultrasound of the abdomen. Which statement indicates that teaching provided to the client to prepare for the test was effective?

"I will not eat or drink for 8 to 12 hours before the test."

Which statement by a client undergoing external radiation therapy indicates the need for further teaching?

"I will receive parenteral vitamin B12 therapy for the rest of my life."

A home care nurse is caring for a client with reports of epigastric discomfort who is scheduled for a barium swallow. Which statement by the client indicates an understanding of the test?

"I'll avoid eating or drinking anything 6 to 8 hours before the test."

A client informs the nurse of having taken ibuprofen every 6 hours for 3 weeks to help alleviate the pain of arthritis. The client has a history of a gastric ulcer and is taking a proton pump inhibitor for the treatment of this disorder. What should the nurse instruct the client about the use of the ibuprofen?

"It would be best to contact the health care provider before taking any over-the-counter medications."

What is the most important postoperative instruction a nurse must give to a client who has just returned from the operating room after receiving a subarachnoid block?

"Remain supine for the time specified by the physician."

A client asks the nurse how an inhalant general anesthetic is expelled by the body. What is the best response by the nurse?

"The lungs primarily eliminate the anesthesia."

The family of a terminally ill client tells the nurse that the client has been breathing irregularly and, at times, it appears that he is not breathing at all. The client's daughter states, "He moans when he breathes. Is he in pain?" Which response by the nurse would be most appropriate?

"The moaning you hear is from air moving over very relaxed vocal cords."

A home care nurse is visiting a left-handed client who has an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) implanted in the left chest. The client is planning to go rifle hunting. How should the nurse respond?

"You can't shoot a rifle left-handed because the rifle's recoil will traumatize the ICD site."

A 52-year-old comes to the clinic for a follow-up examination after being diagnosed with glaucoma. The client states, "I'm hoping that I don't have to use these drops for very long." Which response by the nurse would be most appropriate?

"You'll need to use the drops for the rest of your life to control the glaucoma."

A client is diagnosed with a chronic respiratory disorder. After assessing the client's knowledge of the disorder, the nurse prepares a teaching plan. This teaching plan is most likely to include which nursing diagnosis?

Anxiety

After a tonsillectomy, a client is being prepared for discharge. The nurse should instruct the client to report which sign or symptom immediately?

Bleeding

Which stage of the transtheoretical model occurs when the patient has serious consideration of change, but it is sometime in the future?

Contemplation

A patient is being educated in the use of incentive spirometry prior to having a surgical procedure. What should the nurse be sure to include in the education?

Encourage the patient to take approximately 10 breaths per hour, while awake.

A client with chronic open-angle glaucoma is now presenting with eye pain and intraocular pressure of 50 mm Hg. An immediate iridotomy is scheduled. Which of the following describes the desired effects of this procedure?

Improve outflow drainage

Which aspect should a nurse include in the teaching plan for a client with osteomalacia?

Include calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D supplements

Which points should be included in the medication teaching plan for a client taking adalimumab?

It is important to monitor for injection site reactions.

A nurse is working with a student nurse who is caring for a client with an acute bleeding cerebral aneurysm. Which action by the student nurse requires further intervention?

Keeping the client in one position to decrease bleeding

Which should be included in the teaching plan for a client diagnosed with plantar fasciitis?

Management of plantar fasciitis includes stretching exercises.

Which of the following is a term used to describe excessive menstrual bleeding?

Menorrhagia

The nurse is caring for a client with acute pancreatitis who is admitted to the intensive care unit to monitor for pulmonary complications. What is the nurse's understanding of the pathophysiology of pulmonary complications related to pancreatitis?

Pancreatitis can elevate the diaphragm and alter the breathing pattern.

A client presents with symptoms of menstrual difficulties and infertility. Which hormone is essential in the maintenance of the endometrium?

Progesterone

A client is preparing for discharge to home following a partial gastrectomy and vagotomy. Which is the best rationale for the client being taught to lie down for 30 minutes after each meal?

Slows gastric emptying

The nurse is conducting a community education program on allergies and anaphylactic reactions. The nurse determines that the participants understand the education when they make which statement about anaphylaxis?

The most common cause of anaphylaxis is penicillin.

The nurse teaches the client with allergies about anaphylaxis, including which statement?

The most common cause of anaphylaxis is penicillin.

The nurse is instructing the patient with asthma in the use of a newly prescribed leukotriene receptor antagonist. What should the nurse be sure to include in the education?

The patient should take the medication an hour before meals or 2 hours after a meal.

The nurse is caring for a patient with ascites due to cirrhosis of the liver. What position does the nurse understand will activate the renin-angiotensin aldosterone and sympathetic nervous system and decrease responsiveness to diuretic therapy?

Upright

A group of students is reviewing for a test on the urinary and renal system. The students demonstrate understanding of the information when they identify which of the following as part of the upper urinary tract?

Ureters

A nurse is teaching a client with chronic bronchitis about breathing exercises. Which instruction should the nurse include in the teaching?

Use diaphragmatic breathing.

The nurse is providing information about strokes to a community group. Which of the following would the nurse identify as the primary initial symptoms of an ischemic stroke?

Weakness on one side of the body and difficulty with speech

A client with CAD thinks diltiazem (Cardizem) has been causing nausea. Diltiazem (Cardizem) is categorized as which type of drug?

calcium-channel blocker

The term for a reddened circumscribed lesion that ulcerates and becomes crusted and is a primary lesion of syphilis is a(n)

chancre.

A nurse is performing a home visit for a client who received chemotherapy within the past 24 hours. The nurse observes a small child playing in the bathroom, where the toilet lid has been left up. Based on these observations, the nurse modifies the client's teaching plan to include:

chemotherapy exposure and risk factors.

After undergoing a left thoracotomy, a client has a chest tube in place. When caring for this client, the nurse must:

encourage coughing and deep breathing.

The nurse suspects a client has developed pericarditis after a week of cold-like symptoms. Which of the client's signs and symptoms indicate pericarditis?

fever, chest discomfort, and elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)

A client is being assessed for acute laryngitis. The nurse knows that clinical manifestations of acute laryngitis include

hoarseness

What is the major clinical use of dobutamine?

increase cardiac output.

The classification of Stage II of COPD is defined as

moderate COPD.

A nursing instructor is giving a lecture on the immune system. The instructor's discussion on phagocytosis will include:

neutrophils and monocytes.

The nurse is teaching a client about chronic untreated hypertension. What complication will the nurse explain to the client?

stroke

A nurse is caring for a young female adult client diagnosed with atrial fibrillation who has just had a mitral valve replacement. The client is being discharged with prescribed warfarin. The client mentions to the nurse that she relies on the rhythm method for birth control. What education will be a priority for the nurse to provide to this client?

the high risk for complications if she becomes pregnant while taking warfarin

A nurse cares for an obese client taking phentermine for weight loss. What client teaching will the nurse include when discussing precautions about the medication?

"Do not drink alcohol while taking this medication."

The nurse is giving discharge instructions to the client following a bladder ultrasound. Which statement by the client indicates the client understands the instructions?

"I can resume my usual activities without restriction."

A nurse is teaching a client recovering from addisonian crisis about the need to take fludrocortisone acetate and hydrocortisone at home. Which statement by the client indicates an understanding of the instructions?

"I'll take two-thirds of the dose when I wake up and one-third in the late afternoon."

A client with pernicious anemia is receiving parenteral vitamin B12 therapy. Which client statement indicates effective teaching about this therapy?

"I'm worried I'll expose my family members to radiation."

A client newly diagnosed with diabetes mellitus asks why he needs ketone testing when the disease affects his blood glucose levels. How should the nurse respond?

"Ketones will tell us if your body is using other tissues for energy."

A client who wishes to preserve childbearing asks the nurse to explain how taking oral contraceptives will work in the management of endometriosis. Which is the best response by the nurse?

"Symptoms of endometriosis are increased during normal menstrual cycle."

Which instruction should a nurse give to a client with diabetes mellitus when teaching about "sick day rules"?

"Test your blood glucose every 4 hours."

The nurse is teaching a young adult male how to perform testicular self-examination (TSE). The nurse determines that the client has understood the instructions when he states which of the following?

"The best time to do it is once a month after I take my warm morning shower."

A client with a malignant glioma is scheduled for surgery. The client demonstrates a need for additional teaching about the surgery when he states which of the following?

"The surgeon will be able to remove all of the tumor."

A nurse is providing education about migraine headaches to a community group. The cause of migraines has not been clearly demonstrated, but is related to vascular disturbances. A member of the group asks about familial tendencies. The nurse's correct reply will be which of the following?

"There is a strong familial tendency."

An agitated, confused client arrives in the emergency department. The client's history includes type 1 diabetes, hypertension, and angina pectoris. Assessment reveals pallor, diaphoresis, headache, and intense hunger. A stat blood glucose sample measures 42 mg/dl, and the client is treated for an acute hypoglycemic reaction. After recovery, the nurse teaches the client to treat hypoglycemia by ingesting:

10 to 15 g of a simple carbohydrate.

The nurse is educating a patient who will be started on an antituberculosis medication regimen. The patient asks the nurse, "How long will I have to be on these medications?" What should the nurse tell the patient?

6 to 12 months

A nurse is teaching a client with bone marrow suppression about the time frame when bone suppression will be noticeable after administration of floxuridine. What is the time frame the nurse should include with client teaching?

7 to 14 days

A client is recovering from a neck dissection. What volume of serosanguineous secretions would the nurse expect to drain over the first 24 hours?

80 to 120 mL

Before discharge, what should a nurse instruct a client with Addison's disease to do when exposed to periods of stress?

Administer hydrocortisone I.M.

When teaching a client with newly diagnosed hypertension about the pathophysiology of this disease, the nurse states that arterial baroreceptors, which monitor arterial pressure, are located in the carotid sinus. Which other area should the nurse mention as a site of arterial baroreceptors?

Aorta

When providing discharge teaching to a client with a fractured toe, the nurse should include which instruction?

Apply ice to the fracture site.

Which is a deformity of the chest that occurs as a result of overinflation of the lungs?

Barrel chest

A nurse cares for a client who is 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs 225 pounds. What statement describes the client's BMI?

Class I obesity

The nurse has been asked to provide health information to a female patient diagnosed with a urinary tract infection. What appropriate instructions will the nurse provide? Select all that apply.

Cleanse around the perineum and urethral meatus after each bowel movement to reduce pathogens. Drink liberal amounts of fluid to flush out bacteria. Void every 2-3 hours to prevent overdistention of the bladder

After teaching a group of students about malignant bladder tumors, the instructor determines that the teaching was successful when the students identify which of the following clients as having the greatest risk for developing a malignant bladder tumor?

Client with a history of cigarette smoking

After teaching a group of student about structural abnormalities of the male reproductive system, the instructor determines that the teaching was successful when the students identify which of the following as an example?

Cryptorchidism

A nurse practitioner explains to a patient recently diagnosed with noise-induced hearing loss that the basic altered physiology in the ear is the result of:

Damage to the hair cells inside the cochlea.

The nurse and the client are discussing some strategies for ingesting iron to combat the client's iron-deficiency anemia. Which is among the nurse's strategies?

Drink liquid iron preparations with a straw.

Health teaching for a patient with GERD is directed toward decreasing lower esophageal sphincter pressure and irritation. The nurse instructs the patient to do which of the following? Select all that apply.

Elevate the head of the bed on 6- to 8-inch blocks. Elevate the upper body on pillows. Avoid beer, especially in the evening.

Which area of the heart that is located at the third intercostal space to the left of the sternum?

Erb point

A dermatologist recommends an over-the-counter suspension to relieve pruritus. The nurse advises the patient that the lotion should be applied:

Every 3 to 4 hours for sustained effectiveness.

A 28-year-old woman is learning about breast self-examination. The nurse teaches the woman that the best time of each month to examine her breasts is during the:

First week after menstruation.

Gastrostomy feedings are preferred to nasogastric feedings in the comatose patient, because the:

Gastroesophageal sphincter is intact, lessening the possibility of regurgitation and aspiration.

A client is being evaluated for esophageal cancer. What initial manifestation of esophageal cancer should the nurse assess?

Increasing difficulty in swallowing

A client is scheduled for an upper gastrointestinal barium study. Which teaching will the nurse provide for the client to prepare for this diagnostic test?

Ingest nothing by mouth after midnight.

Which of the following are functions of saliva? Select all that apply.

Lubrication Protection against harmful bacteria Digestion

The nursing students are learning about the immune system in their anatomy and physiology class. What would these students learn is a component of the immune system?

Lymphoid tissues

A client with tetraplegia cannot do his own skin care. The nurse is teaching the caregiver about the importance of maintaining skin integrity. Which of the following will the nurse most encourage the caregiver to do?

Maintain a diet for the client that is high in protein, vitamins, and calories.

A female client who reports recurring headaches, accompanied by increased irritability, photophobia, and fatigue is asked to track the headache symptoms and occurrence on a calendar log. Which is the best nursing rationale for this action?

Migraines often coincide with menstrual cycle.

A nurse researcher studies the pathophysiology and etiology of obesity. What does the nurse discover is true regarding the "thrifty gene" theory of obesity?

Over time, we have become efficient in food storage and deposition of fat stores.

The nurse is assessing a patient's blood pressure. What does the nurse document as the difference between the systolic and the diastolic pressure?

Pulse pressure

A nurse practitioner is preparing to perform a client's scheduled Pap smear, and the client asks the nurse to ensure that the speculum is well lubricated. How should the nurse proceed with assessment?

Reassure the client that a water-based lubricant or warm water will be used.

Telling the truth (veracity) is one of the basic principles of North American culture. Three ethical dilemmas in clinical practice can directly conflict with this principle. Choose the three from the list below.

Revealing a diagnosis to people other than the client with the diagnosis Using placebos Not revealing a diagnosis to a client

The instructor has just finished teaching a group of students about the various organs of the upper gastrointestinal tract and possible disorders. The instructor determines that the teaching was successful when the students identify which structure as possibly being affected?

Stomach

A client has been diagnosed with Zenker's diverticulum. What treatment does the nurse include in the client education?

Surgical removal of the diverticulum

What should the nurse do to manage persistent swelling in a client with severe lymphangitis and lymphadenitis?

Teach the client how to apply a graduated compression stocking.

A client's left leg is in skeletal traction with a Thomas leg splint and Pearson attachment. Which intervention should the nurse include in this client's care plan?

Teach the client how to prevent problems caused by immobility.

A client who's paralyzed on the left side has been receiving physical therapy and attending teaching sessions about safety. Which behavior indicates that the client accurately understands safety measures related to paralysis?

The client uses a mirror to inspect the skin.

When providing discharge instructions, the nurse recognizes that which client is most likely to comply with the therapeutic treatment regimen?

The client with pneumonia who requires 1 week of oral antibiotics

A nurse is teaching the client about use of the pictured item with a metered-dose inhaler (MDI). What instructions should the nurse include in the teaching? Select all that apply.

The device may increase delivery of the MDI medication. Activate the MDI once. Take a slow, deep inhalation from the device.

A perioperative nurse is conducting an in-service education program about maintaining surgical asepsis during the intraoperative period. Which of the following would the nurse emphasize?

The edges of a sterile package, once opened, are considered unsterile.

The nurse is caring for a client who has been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and is experiencing respiratory acidosis. The client asks what is making the acidotic state. What does the nurse identify as the result of the disease process that causes the fall in pH?

The lungs are not able to regulate carbonic acid levels.

Based on the nurse's knowledge of nonadherence to therapeutic regimens, which nurse needs to place extra emphasis on adherence to the treatment plan?

The nurse planning to teach adults aged 65 about congestive heart failure management

An adult client's current goals of rehabilitation focus primarily on self-care. What is a priority when teaching a client who has self-care deficits in ADLs?

To provide an optimal learning environment with minimal distractions

A client is very concerned about possibly having breast cancer, especially after caring for a close family member who recently died from the disease. The nurse informs the client that the primary and most common sign of breast cancer is a:

painless mass in the breast, most often in the upper outer quadrant.

The nurse teaches an unlicensed caregiver about bathing clients who are receiving tube feedings. The most significant complication related to continuous tube feedings is the

potential risk for aspiration.