ATI RN
Vital Signs Assessment Chapter 7 Questions
Question 1 of 9
The nurse is preparing for a class in early detection of breast cancer. Which statement is true with regard to breast cancer in black women in the United States?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Black women have a higher mortality rate from breast cancer than white women and are more likely to die of their disease. In addition, black women are significantly more likely to be diagnosed with regional or distant breast cancer than are white women. These racial differences in mortality rates may be related to an insufficient use of screening measures and a lack of access to health care.
Question 2 of 9
A nurse is assessing a client's pulse rate and observes an irregular rhythm with skipped beats. What action should the nurse take?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Irregular rhythm with skipped beats suggests a potential arrhythmia, requiring provider notification for evaluation. It's not normal . Waiting an hour delays care. Deep breathing doesn't address cardiac issues. Choice C is correct, per the explanation, reflecting nursing's duty to escalate abnormal findings promptly for patient safety.
Question 3 of 9
What is the best position for the nurse to place the patient in when assessing jugular vein distension?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Jugular vein distension is best assessed with the head of the bed elevated 30 to 45 degrees.
Question 4 of 9
The patient is lying in bed under a ceiling fan. Which technique is the nurse using when the fan produces heat loss?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: A ceiling fan moves air over the patient, causing heat loss via convection , where warm air around the body is replaced by cooler moving air. Radiation involves heat emission without contact, not fan-driven. Conduction requires direct contact (e.g., cold pack), not air movement. Evaporation involves moisture loss, not primarily fan-related here. Choice C is correct because convection matches the mechanism of air circulation enhancing heat dissipation, a principle nurses apply in thermoregulation strategies to cool patients effectively in clinical settings.
Question 5 of 9
A tender, painful swelling of the scrotum should suggest which of the following?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: A tender, painful swelling of the scrotum can be a medical emergency. All of these conditions should be considered, as well as acute orchitis.
Question 6 of 9
The nurse is performing a musculoskeletal assessment and notes that the patient has a decreased range of motion in the knee joint. What is the most likely cause of this finding?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Decreased range of motion in the knee joint is often a result of osteoarthritis, a condition characterized by the degeneration of joint cartilage.
Question 7 of 9
A teenage patient comes to the emergency department with complaints of an inability to breathe and a sharp pain in the left side of his chest. The assessment findings include cyanosis, tachypnea, tracheal deviation to the right, decreased tactile fremitus on the left, hyperresonance on the left, and decreased breath sounds on the left. The nurse interprets that these assessment findings are consistent with:
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: With a pneumothorax, free air in the pleural space causes partial or complete lung collapse. If the pneumothorax is large, then tachypnea and cyanosis are evident. Unequal chest expansion, decreased or absent tactile fremitus, tracheal deviation to the unaffected side, decreased chest expansion, hyperresonant percussion tones, and decreased or absent breath sounds are found with the presence of pneumothorax.
Question 8 of 9
The nurse is preparing for a class in early detection of breast cancer. Which statement is true with regard to breast cancer in black women in the United States?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Black women have a higher mortality rate from breast cancer than white women and are more likely to die of their disease. In addition, black women are significantly more likely to be diagnosed with regional or distant breast cancer than are white women. These racial differences in mortality rates may be related to an insufficient use of screening measures and a lack of access to health care.
Question 9 of 9
Core body temperature is highest at:
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Late afternoon, is correct because core body temperature peaks around 4 pm to 6 pm due to circadian rhythms governed by the hypothalamus. It rises throughout the day from a low of ~97°F (4-6 am) to a high of ~98.6°F-100°F, reflecting increased metabolic activity. Early morning, is the nadir, not peak. Noon, is midway, not the highest. Evening, sees a decline post-peak. Studies show this diurnal pattern in healthy adults, with late afternoon aligning with maximal alertness and physical performance. Nurses consider this when assessing fevere.g., a 99°F reading at 5 pm might be normal variation. Thus, C is accurate based on physiological circadian evidence.