Deck 2: The Contemporary Image of Professional Nursing

Question 1

A nursing student asks, "I wonder if the reason that the nursing shortage is so severe is that registered nurses are unhappy with their jobs." To research the answer, the National Survey of Registered Nurses was reviewed and found:

A) registered nurses change employers every year to prevent burnout and to keep the nursing shortage from increasing.
B) nursing faculty are aging or leaving academia due to increased work demands and generational difference from students.
C) practicing registered nurses are satisfied with their job and most remain with same employer they worked for the previous year.
D) registered nurses were the least satisfied with their job of all health care providers.

Answer 1

practicing registered nurses are satisfied with their job and most remain with same employer they worked for the previous year.

Question 2

Which nurse died after deliberately acquiring two bites from yellow fever carrier mosquitoes to enable her to provide care to soldiers with yellow fever during the Spanish-American War?

A) Florence Nightingale
B) Margaret Hoolihan
C) Clara Maas
D) Sairy Gamp

Answer 2

Clara Maas

Question 3

A physician complains to administration that the nurse working last evening is unethical, based on observing the nurse educate the patient about a new medication ordered. The physician demanded the nurse be reprimanded and reminded that only physicians have the educational background to teach patients about new medications. Which comment and action by the administrator would be most effective in changing nurse-physician relationships in this instance?

A) Inform the nurse, "You will be suspended for 3 days for going beyond your job description," and enforce the 3-day suspension because the physician did not write the order to "teach the patient about the new medication"
B) Advise the physician that only nurses can teach patients about medications; the physician's role is to only prescribe. No action will be taken against the nurse.
C) After investigating the situation, thank the physician while also providing information that patient education related to medication is within the scope of practice of registered nurses. Share the physician's concern and administrator's response with the nurse so both parties are aware of the resolution of the concerns.
D) Contact the patient's family and ask, "Do you prefer that all teaching related to medications be performed by the physician rather than the nurse" to determine what action to take.

Answer 3

After investigating the situation, thank the physician while also providing information that patient education related to medication is within the scope of practice of registered nurses. Share the physician's concern and administrator's response with the nurse so both parties are aware of the resolution of the concerns.

Question 4

What effect did the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest have on health care?

A) Funding for mental health care increased, allowing the point of care to change from the community to standardized institutional care.
B) The public and the nursing profession were made aware of the rights of vulnerable populations.
C) Nurses were seen as advocates for individuals who cannot advocate for themselves.
D) Funding for nursing traineeships was eliminated.

Question 5

What does the Spirit of Nursing statue honor?

A) Florence Nightingale's accomplishments in public health
B) Edith Cavell's attempt to help the victims of the Tuskegee experiment seek treatment
C) Clara Maas, who found the cure for yellow fever during WWII
D) All military nurses for their bravery and compassion

Question 6

The demographics of the twenty-first century nursing population indicate that:

A) individuals entering nursing are second-degree students who average 45 years of age.
B) more white nurses enter and obtain graduate degrees than any other ethnic group.
C) the highest level of nursing education for most RNs is an associate degree.
D) the majority of nurses practice in hospitals.

Question 7

Which nurse best portrays nursing as a "knowledge worker"?

A) Nurse in matched scrubs with lab coat, hair back, small stud earrings
B) Nurse in mismatched scrubs, no lab coat, large hoop earrings
C) Nurse in white uniform with apron with no jewelry/hair back
D) Nurse with nose ring and eyebrow piercing with starched white uniform and cap

Question 8

What was the purpose of the Nurse Reinvestment Act of 2002?

A) Provided disability insurance to RNs who contract a life-threatening illness while on duty
B) Funded public service announcements that promote unlicensed caregivers as an alternative to professional nurses
C) Focused on nurse retention and safety enhancement grants
D) Provided pediatric nursing training grants

Question 9

Potential nursing students are concerned about choosing a profession with job security and ask the recruiter, "Because more people are choosing nursing, will I have a job in a few years?" The recruiter answer that by 2025, on the basis of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics prediction:

A) positions that have historically required RNs will be filled by foreign nurses.
B) the nursing shortage will increase twofold, the largest shortage in almost 50 years.
C) the need for hospital nurses will dramatically decrease as nurses reenter the profession.
D) hospitals will finally achieve the required RN workforce, reducing the need for more RNs.

Question 10

Charles Dickens' character Sairy Gamp:

A) portrayed nurses as trained professional individuals who put others before themselves.
B) chose nursing because she had no other avenue for employment.
C) was a prostitute who took advantage of sick old men.
D) characterized nurses as being at the forefront of technology and autonomy.

Question 11

A student nurse signs the nurses' notes in the patient's record as, Mary Smith, RN (pending graduation 2015). According to the International Council of Nurses, which individual can use the title "nurse"?

A) Any student nurse who has completed at least 50% of the education program in which he or she is enrolled
B) Any graduate of an accredited nursing program who has taken the NCLEX-RN and is waiting on test results
C) The nursing assistant who is assigned by the registered nurse to "help out" by performing health histories on newly admitted stable patients
D) An individual who has successfully passed the NCLEX-RN

Question 12

According to current data related to the nursing shortage: (Select all that apply.)

A) salaries of nurses are competitive with those of other professionals such as teachers.
B) only 16.8% of nurses are minorities.
C) overall, nurses are satisfied with their jobs but leave the profession because of fear of contracting fatal diseases.
D) the employment opportunities for nurses continue to be strong.
E) staff nurses are returning to school to obtain certificates to teach nursing.

Question 13

With the crisis in health care and the nursing shortage, why is the image of nursing still important?

A) Nursing care is often delivered during a time of uncertainty, and the image of nurses during this time can reinforce trust in the nurse-patient relationship.
B) Physicians have a distinctive body of knowledge that identifies them as professionals, whereas nursing has yet to develop a unique body of knowledge on which to base practice.
C) Nurses must present a unified image if they hope to ever establish nursing as a profession.
D) The dynamic state of today's health care requires nurses to move from a caring image to one of technologic competence.

Question 14

A nurse executive is concerned that the mortality rate in his/her hospital exceeds the national average and searches the literature finding Aiken's 2011 Survey on the effects of nurse staffing and education on mortality, including work environment. If Aiken's recommendations are followed, which change would be most effective?

A) Increasing staffing ratios to include more nurses of all levels of educational preparation on all shifts
B) Employing bachelor's prepared nurses who participate in interprofessional rounds with attending physicians where their voices are heard
C) Ensuring nurse managers and administrators have at minimum a Master's degree
D) Encouraging all unlicensed assistive personnel to attend educational programs to be certified

Question 15

A group of new graduate nurses is asked to speak to a group of politicians to describe the current state of professional nursing and how best to alleviate the nursing shortage. Which statements accurately portray professional nursing today and tomorrow? (Select all that apply.)

A) More RNs attain a bachelor's degree than an associate degree or diploma.
B) Because of pressure to shorten length of stay in hospitals, more RNs practice in outpatient settings and home health than in acute care settings.
C) The most popular advanced practice specialty is nurse anesthesia.
D) White nurses are more likely to enter graduate school than nurses from other ethnic groups.
E) Nursing represents the largest health care professional group, followed by medical doctors.

Question 16

A bronze statue of a nurse in battle fatigues who is obviously exhausted but demonstrates caring by holding a soldier's head is an artistic representation of nurses who served in which war?

A) World War I
B) World War II
C) Spanish-American War
D) Vietnam War

Question 17

Which item below correctly describes the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predictions by 2020?

A) Positions that historically required registered nurses will be filled by unlicensed personnel.
B) The job growth rate for RNs will surpass job growth in all other occupations.
C) The need for hospital nurses will dramatically decrease.
D) Hospitals will finally achieve the required RN workforce.

Question 18

Although the media portrayed nursing in a negative light in M*A*S*H through the character of a promiscuous, uncaring nurse, it also provided Americans with a promising glimpse of:

A) nurses who can be promiscuous and still help doctors.
B) the fact that caring is not as important as the desire to serve one's country.
C) the ability of nurses to cope with the dreadfulness of war by using humor.
D) the contributions of male military nurses.

Question 19

Nurses can combat the nursing shortage by:

A) joining unions, which influence employers to provide incentives such as pay raises and free child care, thus encouraging the large percentage of nonworking nurses to return to the workforce.
B) demanding that the requirements of the qualifying examination for foreign nurses should be reduced, so they are eligible to sit for the licensure examination.
C) working more hours with a higher nurse/patient ratio.
D) advocating for funds to pay for nursing education and a safer work environment.

Question 20

A registered nurse is on break and checking emails. One email contains a picture of a celebrity who is a patient in the hospital, and on the same floor, where the nurse works. Included with the photo is a message, "check out my Facebook," which contains additional photographs of the patient. The nurse immediately deletes the picture to prevent having to report the "friend" to supervisors. Based on the action of the nurse who received the message, which statement is correct?

A) The nurse is not at risk for having his/her license suspended since removing the photos made them temporary and invisible to all others.
B) Because the nurse did not send the message and immediately deleted the photo, there is no risk for discipline.
C) Failing to report receiving the message places the nurse at risk for discipline.
D) Because the patient is on the same floor as the one on which the nurse works, the information can be ethically and legally shared.

Question 21

The Nurses of America's media campaign raised awareness of which aspects of nursing? (Select all that apply.)

A) Nurses are expert clinicians.
B) A higher nurse/patient ratio is needed.
C) Nurses are invisible in the news media.
D) Nurses are caring.
E) Nurses are well paid.

Question 22

Which actions would result in a greater number of nurses entering and staying in practice, given today's state of nursing? (Select all that apply.)

A) Determine why few African-American women enter graduate school.
B) Provide incentives for minorities and men to enter nursing.
C) Obtain grant funding to increase the number of faculty members and scholarship availability for students entering baccalaureate nursing programs.
D) Survey nurses to determine why their job satisfaction is lower than that of other health care professions.
E) Develop ad campaigns that target younger students.

Question 23

Place the five most ethical professionals in descending order, according to the 2011 Gallop Poll ranking. Put a comma and space between each answer choice (for example: a, b, c, d).

A) Police officers
B) High school teachers
C) Medical doctors
D) Nurses
E) Pharmacists