ATI RN
Contemporary Issues in Nursing Questions
Question 1 of 9
The nurse manager meets with upper administration and learns that the strategic plan for nursing is to have 80% BSN staff within the next 3 years. The nurse manager then built her budget to meet the organization's strategic goal by providing tuition reimbursement and flexible work hours, which required some agency staffing. Which approach to budgeting is used?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The correct answer is C: Participatory. The nurse manager involves staff in the budgeting process by allowing input through tuition reimbursement and flexible work hours. This approach promotes engagement and collaboration, aligning with the organization's strategic goal of increasing BSN staff. Participatory budgeting is characterized by involving stakeholders in decision-making, leading to buy-in and better implementation of the budget. Summary of other choices: A: Iterative - Involves repeating steps to refine the budget, not necessarily focused on stakeholder participation. B: Top-down - Decision-making comes from upper management without much input from lower levels. D: Zero-based - Requires justifying every expense from scratch, not necessarily involving staff input in decision-making.
Question 2 of 9
Organizations measure the effectiveness of their budgets by examining actual revenues and expenditures versus:
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The correct answer is A: planned variances. Organizations compare actual revenues and expenditures to planned variances to measure budget effectiveness. Planned variances show the differences between the budgeted amounts and the actual results, highlighting areas of over or underperformance. This analysis helps organizations identify reasons for deviations and adjust future budgets accordingly. Explanation for other choices: B: Incremental budgets focus on adjusting previous budgets by a fixed amount, not on comparing actual versus planned amounts. C: Productivity metrics measure the efficiency of resources used, not specifically related to budget effectiveness. D: Expected performance is a vague term that does not directly address comparing actual versus planned financial data.
Question 3 of 9
A nurse practicing in the early 1900s was awarded a permissive license. These licenses:
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The correct answer is A because permissive licenses in the early 1900s were voluntary but required passing an examination to use the title RN. This ensured a basic level of competency. Choice B is incorrect as there was no specific requirement for the duration of formalized nurse training. Choice C is incorrect as failing the examination would disqualify nurses from practice. Choice D is incorrect as there was typically only one type of licensure examination, not a choice between written or oral.
Question 4 of 9
When working with the family of a patient receiving palliative care, what is the nurse's initial intervention?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The correct initial intervention for the nurse when working with the family of a patient receiving palliative care is to identify what types of help the family will need to care for the patient (Choice B). This is because understanding the family's needs and resources is essential for providing effective support. By identifying the specific types of assistance required, the nurse can tailor the care plan to meet the family's needs, enhancing the quality of care provided to the patient. Determining the patient's durable power of attorney (Choice A) is important but usually comes later in the process after understanding the family's needs. Completing an assessment of the family's strengths and weaknesses (Choice C) is valuable but not the initial step. Discussing the dynamics of the family with the patient (Choice D) may be relevant but is not the priority when initiating support for the family.
Question 5 of 9
A graduate nurse should begin the job search knowing that:
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The correct answer is C because efforts to reduce healthcare expenditures do not necessarily impact the need for RNs, which remains stable. This is supported by the ongoing demand for nurses in various healthcare settings. Choice A is incorrect as the demand for RNs is generally high. Choice B is incorrect because job availability depends on various factors beyond just the location of the hospital. Choice D is incorrect as the need for nurses in acute care hospitals remains significant despite the shift towards outpatient and ambulatory settings.
Question 6 of 9
A physician has installed a computer-based patient records system. An outside care provider who requests medical information must obtain the patient's signed consent and then is assigned a password to gain access to the medical information. A monthly audit is conducted to determine for whom and for what purpose patient records have been accessed. This protection is referred to as:
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The correct answer is C: security. The scenario describes measures to protect the patient records system from unauthorized access, such as requiring consent, assigning passwords, and conducting audits. Security specifically refers to safeguarding information from unauthorized access, ensuring data integrity and availability. Privacy (A) is about controlling access to personal information, while confidentiality (B) is about keeping information private. Data capture (D) refers to the process of collecting data, not protecting it from unauthorized access. In this case, the focus is on security measures implemented to protect patient records, making it the most appropriate choice.
Question 7 of 9
A nurse is interested in learning how reminiscence therapy can improve memory in cognitively intact persons over the age of 65 years. Findings from three groups are compared. Group 1 receives music therapy, Group 2 receives life review therapy, and Group 3 does not receive therapy, but data are collected from all three groups and compared. Group 3 is known as the:
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: The correct answer is D: control group. In this study design, Group 3 serves as the control group to compare the effects of music therapy and life review therapy on memory. The control group does not receive any intervention, allowing researchers to isolate the impact of the therapies. This helps determine if any observed improvements in memory are due to the therapies and not other factors. A pilot study (A) is a small-scale preliminary investigation, not a comparison group. A survey (B) is a data collection method, not a comparison group. A needs assessment (C) is used to determine needs, not a comparison group. Thus, the control group is essential in research to establish causal relationships.
Question 8 of 9
The number of IV site infections has more than doubled on a nursing unit. The staff determine common causes include the site is cleaned using inconsistent methods, dressing frequently becomes wet when patient showers, IV tubing is not changed every 48 hours per protocol, and inadequate hand washing of RN prior to insertion. A bar graph demonstrates the frequency in descending order, with 80% of infections being attributed to inadequate hand washing. The quality tool used is a:
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The correct answer is C: Pareto chart. A Pareto chart is a quality tool used to prioritize issues by identifying the most significant factors contributing to a problem. In this case, the Pareto chart is appropriate because it helps visually show that inadequate hand washing is the primary cause of IV site infections, as it accounts for 80% of all infections. The chart allows the staff to focus their efforts on addressing this key issue first, which is crucial for effectively reducing the overall infection rate. Incorrect choices: A: Cause-and-effect diagram - This tool is used to identify and analyze potential causes of a problem, but it does not prioritize them in the same way a Pareto chart does. B: Run chart - A run chart is used to track data over time to identify trends and patterns, but it does not prioritize the causes of a problem like a Pareto chart. D: Flowchart - Flowcharts are used to map out a process or workflow, but they do not prioritize issues
Question 9 of 9
The nurse manager meets with upper administration and learns that the strategic plan for nursing is to have 80% BSN staff within the next 3 years. The nurse manager then built her budget to meet the organization's strategic goal by providing tuition reimbursement and flexible work hours, which required some agency staffing. Which approach to budgeting is used?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The correct answer is C: Participatory. The nurse manager involves staff in the budgeting process by allowing input through tuition reimbursement and flexible work hours. This approach promotes engagement and collaboration, aligning with the organization's strategic goal of increasing BSN staff. Participatory budgeting is characterized by involving stakeholders in decision-making, leading to buy-in and better implementation of the budget. Summary of other choices: A: Iterative - Involves repeating steps to refine the budget, not necessarily focused on stakeholder participation. B: Top-down - Decision-making comes from upper management without much input from lower levels. D: Zero-based - Requires justifying every expense from scratch, not necessarily involving staff input in decision-making.