1. A nurse decides to seek certification in critical care nursing.

What is the most important benefit for the individual nurse in becoming certified in a specialty? A) It will result in a salary increase. B) It is re uired to work in critical care. !) It demonstrates the nurse"s personal e#pertise. $) It is mandated by employers. %. &he American Association of !ritical'!are (urses )AA!() sponsors certification in critical care nursing for several critical care subspecialties. What is the most important benefit of such certification for the profession of nursing? A) *rovides positive publicity for nursing B) +alidates nurses" e#pert knowledge and practice !) ,andated by government regulations $) $emonstrates basic knowledge in the field -. A nurse has achieved certification in critical care nursing. What is the most important effect that this certification will have on the nurse"s practice? A) .ecognition by peers B) Increase in salary and rank !) ,ore fle#ibility in seeking employment $) Increased confidence in critical thinking /. &he nurse cites evidence'based practice as a rationale for a patient care decision. What is the best description of evidence'based practice? A) $ecisions based on e#pert legal testimony B) 0se of best available research data !) 1volution of nursing practice over time $) Individual optimi2ation of patient outcomes 3. &he nurse caring for a critically ill patient implements several components of care. What component is an e#ample of the use of evidence'based practice? A) 0se of a protocol for admission of a patient to the unit B) Application of an insulin sliding scale method from research !) !hecking the patient"s armband before giving a medication $) 4imiting visits to immediate family only for % hours a day 5. &he nurse wishes to increase the use of evidence'based practice in the critical care unit where he works. What is a significant barrier to the implementation of evidence'based practice? A) 0se of computeri2ed records by the hospital B) 6ealth Information *rivacy and *ortability Act )6I**A) !) 4ack of knowledge about literature searches $) 7trong collaborative relationships in the work setting

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8. &he nurse has identified an increase in medication errors in the critical care unit over the past several months. What aspect of medication procedures should be evaluated first? A) Adherence to procedures by nursing staff B) !larity of interdisciplinary communication !) (umber of new employees on the unit $) !hanges in administration procedures 9. A critical care unit has decided to implement several measures designed to improve intradisciplinary and interdisciplinary collaboration. In addition to an e#pected improvement in patient outcomes: what is the most important effect that should result from these measures? A) Identification of incompetent practitioners B) Improvement in manners on the unit !) Increased staff retention $) 4ess discussion in front of patients and families ;. A nurse wishes to practice using the 7ynergy ,odel developed by the American Association of !ritical'!are (urses )AA!(). What nursing behavior best supports use of this model? A) Attending mandatory hospital'wide in'service programs B) 7elf'directed study of best practice for the patients she cares for !) <athering demographic data on the patients admitted to the unit $) *articipating in a research study as a data collector 1=. As part of the 7ynergy ,odel: the nurse has identified a patient characteristic of resiliency. What patient behavior demonstrates resiliency? A) $ysfunctional grieving behaviors after receiving bad news B) $eveloping a list of uestions for the physician !) $enial of any possible negative outcomes for a procedure $) Assigning blame to others for undesired outcomes of illness 11. A patient is admitted to the critical care unit after receiving a mechanical heart implantation. In making a nursing assignment: the charge nurse best demonstrates application of the 7ynergy ,odel by assigning which nurse to care for this patient? A) A newly hired new graduate nurse: for the e#perience B) A nurse with a patient in the ne#t room: for pro#imity !) &he most senior nurse on the unit: for political reasons $) &he nurse with most e#perience with this device: for e#pertise 1%. A ,uslim patient has been admitted to the critical care unit with complications after

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A) B) !) $)

childbirth. Based on the 7ynergy ,odel: which nurse would be the most inappropriate to assign to care for this patient? (ew graduate female nurse ,ost e#perienced female nurse (ew graduate male nurse >emale nurse with postpartum e#perience

1-. &oday"s critical care nursing environment is constantly changing. What nursing behavior best illustrates awareness of current events affecting critical care nursing? A) *articipating in the hospital"s efforts to recruit new nurses B) +olunteering to serve on a disaster response planning committee !) Adhering to content taught in basic nursing program $) Attending hospital'mandated in'services without other education

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Answer Key
1. %. -. /. 3. 5. 8. 9. ;. 1=. 11. 1%. 1-. ! B $ B B ! B ! B B $ ! B

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