Neurological NCLEX-like Critical Thinking Questions

The nurse is caring for a client in the rehabilitation phase after a cerebral vascular accident.  The nurse places pillows between the legs  in order to prevent:

The nurse’s assessment findings demonstrate that the client has a diminished gag reflex.  The nurse recognizes that the client shows dysfunction of the glossopharyngeal nerve (cranial nerve IX) and the vagus nerve (cranial nerve X).  The nurse maintains the client in a side-lying position to prevent:

After a CVA, a client is incontinent of urine. The experienced nurse demonstrates knowledge of the best nursing interventions when she/he says to the client:

The family of a female client who had a stroke is concerned that the client sometimes appears to know what she wants to say, but cannot produce the words.  What is the best response by the nurse?

A client with a pacemaker is having a CT scan after having transient left-sided weakness.  Which of the following statements by the nurse is correct about a CT scan?

After a CT scan with contrast, the nurse encourages the client to:

The nurse expects a client who had a thrombotic stroke 2 days ago to be on which of the following medications?

The physician orders a swallow evaluation for a client who had a stroke three days ago. The nurse understands that the swallow evaluation is important in order to:

What is the priority intervention for a male client who had a right hemispheric stroke and is now experiencing edema of his flaccid left arm?

The nurse reviews the head CT scan results of a client who had a head injury.  The CT scan reveals a mild hemorrhage in the brain stem.  What is the priority assessment for this client?

The nurse is providing discharge teaching to a client who had a hemorrhagic stroke with minimal residual effects. Which of the following statements should the nurse include?

Which of the following clients is more likely experiencing autonomic dysreflexia?

The nurse is teaching a client self-catheterization after a spinal cord injury. Which of the following statements should the nurse include?

A client is beginning to show signs of foot drop.  What is the best nursing intervention?

A 78-year-old male client who is admitted to the surgical floor with pneumonia is seen walking in the hallways acutely agitated, disoriented, and stating “I am in jail. Let me out.”  The nurse recognizes that this client is most likely experiencing which of the following conditions? 

The nurse recognizes that a 78-year-old hospitalized client with pneumonia has delirium.  What is the priority intervention for this client?

The nurse is creating a teach plan about stroke prevention for members of the community.  The nurse should include which of the following signs of a stroke? Select all that apply.

A client will be discharged home today after a left-sided stroke.  The wife will be caring for the client at home. After the left-sided stroke, the client has developed dysphagia. Which of the following statements by the wife indicates that she needs further teaching about the proper technique to feed her husband?

The nurse is preparing to insert a foley catheter in a female client. Put the following steps in the order that the nurse should perform them.

A client with neurological deficits has an order for a Magnetic Resonance Imaging.  Which of the following information should the nurse obtain?

A client who had a stroke is experiencing Broca’s aphasia.  Which of the following statements by the nurse shows understanding of Broca’s aphasia?

The nurse is caring for a client who has a history of tonic-clonic seizures.  This morning, the client’s phenytoin level is 8  μ/mL (normal 10 to 20  μ/mL).  Which of the following should be the nurse’s priority concern if the client has a seizure due to the subtherapeutic level of phenytoin?

The ER nurse is caring for a client who had a motor vehicle accident.  The client had a severe C2-C6 cervical spine injury.  Which of the following is the priority nursing action?

The nurse is caring a client with a T5 injury.  Which of the following symptoms of spinal shock does the nurse anticipate? Select all that apply.

The nurse is caring for a client with a craniofacial injury.  The nurse notices clear fluid drainage from the nasal cavity.  Which of the following is the priority intervention?

The nurse is the charge nurse in a neuro trauma unit.  Which of the following clients demonstrates the most serious neurological damage?

Which of the following criteria would a physician utilize to determine brain death? Select all that apply.

The emergency nurse is caring for a client with a closed head injury.  Which of the following is the priority intervention for this client?

The client with Alzheimer’s disease picks up a spoon and looks at it for a long time and finally asks, “What is this?” Which of the following symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease is the client most likely experiencing?

Which of the following is the priority assessment for a client with a L1 spinal cord injury in the rehabilitation phase?

The emergency nurse admits an elderly client with left-sided weakness and slurred speech.  Which of the following is the priority intervention for this client?

The nurse is caring for a client with a subdural hematoma.  Which of the following nursing findings is the most concerning?

The nurse is caring for a client with a subdural hematoma with the following vital signs:

BP 180/35

Heart Rate 42

RR 25, irregular

Which of the following interventions should the nurse do FIRST?

The nurse is caring for 4 clients who had an ischemic stroke.  Which of the following clients should the nurse assess first?

The nurse is caring for a client with had a subdural hematoma and now has increased intracranial pressure.  Which of the following interventions should the nurse implement?

The nurse is caring for a 14-year-old client who is on traction due to a motor vehicle accident. Which of the following nursing interventions should the nurse implement? Select all that apply. 

The client is admitted with an amphetamine intoxication.  Which of the following findings does the nurse anticipate? 

The nurse is caring for a client with suspected meningitis who will have a lumbar puncture.  The nurse eductes the client about the procedure.  Which of the following shows that the client requires further teaching?

Which of the following clients has the greatest risk of developing autonomic dysreflexia?

A 24-year-old male client who had a motor vehicle accident and a T 3 spinal cord injury complains of a severe headache.  What should the nurse do first?

Which of the following are true of autonomic dysreflexia? Select all that apply.

The nurse is admitting a client with Parkinson’s Disease.  Which of the following signgs and symptoms should the nurse anticipate? Select all that apply.

Parkinson’s Disease Medications

The nurse is caring for a client with increased intracranial pressure.  Which of the following nursing interventions should the nurse implement?  Select all that apply?

The nurse is caring for a client with Parkinson’s disease who is taking Carbidopa-Levodopa. Which of the following is the expected outcome of this medication?

The nurse is caring for an infant with increased intracranial pressure due to head trauma.  Which of the following assessment findings should the nurse anticipate? Select all that apply.