RN HESI Mental Health Exam

Question 1 of 5

A young adult client with a recent diagnosis of bipolar disorder takes lithium carbonate daily. The client informed the school nurse of the desire to live away from home to attend college after graduating in one month. Which information is most important for the nurse to provide the client and his family?

A. The client should be aware of the signs and symptoms of his illness.B. The client's serum lithium levels should be routinely evaluated.C. The client should plan to participate in group or individual therapy while at college.D. Despite the illness, the client should be able to live away from home.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale: Monitoring serum lithium levels is essential to ensure the medication remains within the therapeutic range and to prevent toxicity, critical for a newly diagnosed client.

Question 2 of 5

An antidepressant medication is prescribed for a client who reports sleeping only four hours in the past two days and a weight loss of nine pounds within the last month. Which client goal is most important to achieve within the first three days of treatment?

A. Understands the purpose of the medication regimen.B. Sleeps at least six hours a night.C. Describes the reasons for hospitalization.D. Meets scheduled appointment with the dietitian.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale: Improving sleep to at least six hours a night addresses the client's reported insomnia and supports their physical well-being, which is critical in the initial treatment phase. Understanding medication, describing hospitalization reasons, or meeting a dietitian are important but secondary to addressing sleep.

Question 3 of 5

The nurse documents that a male client with schizophrenia is delusional. Which statement by the client confirms this assessment?

A. The snakes on the wall are going to eat me.'B. The voices are telling me to kill the next person I see.'C. The nurse at night is trying to poison me with pills.'D. The fire is burning my skin away right now.'

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: The nurse at night is trying to poison me with pills' reflects a persecutory delusion, a false belief characteristic of delusional thinking in schizophrenia. Other statements indicate hallucinations.

Question 4 of 5

The nurse is using the CAGE questionnaire as a screening tool for a client who is seeking help because his wife said he had a drinking problem. Which information should the nurse explore in-depth with the client based on this screening tool?

A. Consumption, liver enzyme, gastrointestinal complaints, and bleeding.B. Cancer screening results, anger, gastritis, daily alcohol intake.C. Minimizes drinking, frequently misses family events, guilt about drinking, amount of daily intake.D. Efforts to cut down, annoyance with questions, guilt, drinking as an 'Eye-opener.'

Correct Answer: D

Rationale: The CAGE questionnaire assesses alcohol dependency through efforts to cut down, annoyance, guilt, and eye-opener drinking, which should be explored in-depth.

Question 5 of 5

A male client tells the nurse that he has an IQ of 400+ and is a genius and an inventor. He also reports that he is married to a female movie star and thinks that his brother wants a sexual relationship with her. Which is the priority nursing problem for admission to the psychiatric unit?

A. Disturbed sensory perception.B. Compromised family coping.C. Impaired environmental interpretation.D. Ineffective sexual patterns.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: The client's grandiose delusions indicate disturbed sensory perception, the priority problem. Family coping, environmental interpretation, or sexual patterns are secondary.