ATI RN
Behavioral Nursing Questions Questions
Question 1 of 5
A patient states, "I feel detached and weird all the time. It is as though I am looking at life through a cloudy window. Everything seems unreal. It really messes up things at work and school." This scenario is most suggestive of which health problem?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Depersonalization disorder involves a persistent or recurrent experience of feeling detached from and outside oneself. Although reality testing is intact, the experience causes significant impairment in social or occupational functioning and distress to the individual. Dissociative amnesia involves memory loss. Children with disinhibited social engagement disorder demonstrate no normal fear of strangers and are unusually willing to go off with strangers. Individuals with ASD (Acute Stress Disorder) experience three or more dissociative symptoms associated with a traumatic event, such as a subjective sense of numbing, detachment, or absence of emotional responsiveness; a reduction in awareness of surroundings; derealization; depersonalization or dissociative amnesia. In the scenario, the patient experiences only one symptom.
Question 2 of 5
Which prescription medication would the nurse expect to be prescribed for a patient diagnosed with a somatic symptom disorder?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Various types of antidepressants may be helpful in somatic disorders not only directly by reducing depressive symptoms and hence somatic responses, but also indirectly by affecting nerve circuits that affect not only mood but also fatigue, pain perception, GI distress, and other somatic symptoms. Patients may benefit from short-term use of antianxiety medication (benzodiazepines) but require careful monitoring because of risks of dependence. Conventional antipsychotic medications would not be used, although selected atypical antipsychotics may be useful. Narcotic analgesics are not indicated.
Question 3 of 5
A nurse assesses a patient diagnosed with conversion (functional neurological) disorder. Which comment is most likely from this patient?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Patients with conversion (functional neurological) disorder demonstrate a lack of concern regarding the seriousness of symptoms. This lack of concern is termed la belle indifference. There is also a specific, identifiable cause for the development of the symptoms; in this instance, the death of a parent would precipitate stress. The distracters relate to sexual dysfunction and illness anxiety disorder.
Question 4 of 5
A patient diagnosed with a somatic symptom disorder says, "Why has God chosen me to be sick all the time and unable to provide for my family? The burden on my family is worse than the pain I bear." Which nursing diagnoses apply to this patient? (Select all that apply.)
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Failed to generate a rationale of 500+ characters after 5 retries.
Question 5 of 5
An adolescent was recently diagnosed with ODD. The parents say to the nurse, "Isn't there some medication that will help with this problem?" Select the nurse's best response.
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The parents are seeking a quick solution. Medications are generally not indicated for ODD. Comorbid conditions that increase defiant symptoms, such as ADHD, should be managed with medication, but no comorbid problem is identified in the question. The nurse should give information on helpful strategies to manage the adolescent's behavior.