Chaminade University of Honolulu
School of Nursing
Health Assessment Practice Exam
Name: _____________________________
1. A patient comes to you in the clinic and is complaining of “I cannot breathe”. He is using
his accessory muscles when breathing. Vital signs as follows 98.0F (oral temperature),
102/65 (BP), 100 (HR), 20 (RR), and oxygen saturation is 90% on room air. Chest
radiograph showed pulmonary infiltrates. Based on the information provided above,
what is considered a subjective data?
a. Chest radiograph with pulmonary infiltrates
b. Patient’s statement “I cannot breathe”
c. Oxygen saturation 90% on room air
d. Uses accessory muscles to breathe
2. A patient in the emergency department is becoming angry and disruptive to other
patients. He stated in an angry tone of voice “I’ve been here for several hours now and I
was not even seen by a nurse or a physician. You are the nurse assigned to the patient.
What action should do?
a. “You need to be patient, we are busy today.”
b. “I understand that you are frustrated and angry, I am available now to take you
to the examination room.”
c. “Are you angry?, let me take you to the examination room”
d. “I am sorry that you have to wait this long, come with me and I will start
examining you.”
3. You are caring for a patient with pneumonia in the medical-surgical unit. The patient is
alert and oriented to self and time only. He stated that he is still coughing and feels
short of breath when he is lying down. Vital signs as follows 98.7F (oral temperature),
HR is 100, RR is 25, and O2 saturation is 87% on room air. Which of the following data
suggest that the patient has ineffective tissue perfusion?
a. Temperature is elevated to 98.7F
b. RR is elevated to 25
c. The patient is complaining of SOB when lying down
d. O2 saturation is 87% on room air
4. A patient comes in to the emergency department with diagnosis of portal hypertension
secondary to liver failure. You assessed the patient’s skin and noted which of the
following abnormal findings consistent with liver disease?
a. Circumoral cyanosis
b. Butterfly like rash to the face
c. Jaundice
d. Pale skin
5. A patient with diagnosis of COPD came to the clinic in respiratory distress. You noted
the patient leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. The patient is displaying?
a. Tripod position
b. Recumbent position
c. Semi-Fowler’s position
Chaminade University of Honolulu
School of Nursing
Health Assessment Practice Exam
d. Ataxia
6. The difference between the systolic and diastolic blood pressure is termed?
a. Mean Arterial Pressure
b. Pulsus Paradoxus
c. Pulsus Alterans
d. Pulse Pressure
7. A patient with respiratory condition was admitted to your unit. While you are assessing
the patient, you noted that his fingers were enlarged and the nail angle is widened. She
is breathing tachypneic with O2 saturation of 87% on room air. How will you chart your
findings?
a. Mild tenting noted to the fingernail.
b. Uremic frost noted to the fingernail.
c. Clubbing of the fingernails noted.
d. Hematoma noted to the fingernails during assessment.
8. You are assigned to take care of an 82 years old cachectic patient. In her chart, you
noted that the patient has 5.0cm x 5.0cm partial thickness wound to the sacral area. It
was described that the wound has 60% granulation tissue with 40% yellowish tissue.
Small amount of serosanguinous drainage noted. What do you think is the stage of this
pressure injury?
a. Stage 1
b. Stage 2
c. Stage 3
d. Stage 4
9. You are assigned to examine a patient for a Weber test, how do you perform the
procedure?
a. Place the lightly vibrating tuning fork firmly on top of the patient’s head
b. Ask the patient to stand up and walk straight
c. Ask the patient to tilt their head backwards and illuminate their nares with an
otoscope
d. Place the base of a lightly vibrating tuning fork on the mastoid bone, behind the
ear
10. An elderly patient was admitted to the unit this morning due to hypotension. The
patient has a Graves disease. Upon examination, you noted that her eyes were bulging
forward the orbital cavity. What do you call this abnormal finding?
a. Ptosis
b. Chalazion
c. Exopthalmos
d. Protrusion
11. An irregularly shaped elevated lesion was noted in the superior aspect of the left orbital
area. Size is approximately 7mm in diameter. The color of the lesion is reddish with
purplish demarcation. The patient is Caucasian and has fair skin. Based on the
information provided, what do you suspect the patient has?
a. Plaque
Chaminade University of Honolulu
School of Nursing
Health Assessment Practice Exam
b. Macule
c. Squamous Cell Carcinoma
d. Basal Cell Carcinoma
12. You are performing a Braden Scale on a patient and her score is 9. The patient is
categorized as?
a. No risk for skin breakdown
b. Mild risk for skin breakdown
c. Very high risk for skin breakdown
d. Moderate risk for skin breakdown
13. You are reading a note from the previous nurse about your patient with diagnosis of
Transient Ischemic Attack. You noted that she charted “PERRLA. EOMI.” What does
PERRLA stands for?
a. Pupils Equally Round, Reactive to Light, and Accommodation
b. Pupils Equally Rotate, Reactive to Light, and Abducens
c. Pupils Eventually Round, Reactive to Light, and Accommodation
d. Perpendicular Eyes, Round, Reactive to Light, and Accommodation
14. A nursing student is asked to differentiate objective and subjective data. The nursing
student is CORRECT when she stated?
a. Objective data are information perceived by the patient and subjective data is
obtained from assessment
b. Objective data are observable and measurable while subjective data are
information verbally provided by the patient
c. Objective data is from a secondary source and subjective data is from the patient
d. Objective data is oftentimes put in quotations while subjective data is verified
only by the patient
15. You are assigned to care for 4 patients while working in the medical surgical unit this
morning. Which of the following patients would you see first?
a. A patient that is discharging this morning with vital signs of 98.7F, 63 HR, 16 RR,
114/67 BP
b. A patient with cellulitis who is getting IV antibiotics and fluids with vital signs of
99.9F, 102 HR, 17 RR, and 99/45 BP
c. A patient admitted last night for myocardial infarction with vital signs of 99.9F,
106 HR, 20 RR, and 90/40 BP
d. A patient with atrial fibrillation on Coumadin with VS of 98.6F, 112 HR, 16 RR,
and 105/74 BP
