PCC Exam 1 Blueprint Questions and
Answers
Describe the educational requirements for current nursing practice. - answer
Graduate from an accredited nursing program and pass the NCLEX-RN.
Five levels of education for entry into practice:
*Diploma*: Hospital-based programs, modeled after the Nightingale Schools of Nursing
apprenticeship style of learning. The typical program lasts 3 years and focuses on
clinical experience in direct client care. Since the 1960s, the number of diploma
programs has steadily decreased to less than 10% of registered nursing programs.
*ADN*: This type of program, conceptualized by Mildred Montag, emerged during the
nursing shortage following World War II. Most associate degree (AD) programs are
offered in community colleges. Although the nursing component typically lasts 2 years,
students are required to take numerous other courses in liberal arts and the sciences.
ADN nurses are prepared to provide direct client care.
*BSN*: The course of study in pre-licensure Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)
programs lasts at least 8 semesters. Graduates are prepared to assume administrative
responsibilities, address complex clinical situations, oversee and provide direct client
care, work in community care, apply research findings, and enter graduate education.
The Institute of Medicine (2011) established a goal to increase the proportion of
baccalaureate-prepared nurses to 80% by 2020. The American Association of Colleges
of Nursing (AACN) recognizes the baccalaureate degree as the minimum education for
professional-level nursing practice (2019). However, the AACN acknowledges support
of licensure at the ADN level.
*RN to BSN*: Nurse who has an associate degree enrolls in a program of study that
leads to a BSN degree. The length of time required to complete the BSN varies
according to the program and the number of credits each student can transfer.
*Master's*: Prepare RNs to function in a more independent and autonomo
Define patient centered care and healthcare settings. - answer *Provide client-
centered care*:
-Respect clients' differences, values, preferences, and expressed needs.
-Relieve pain and suffering.
-Coordinate continuous care.
-Communicate and provide client education.
-Focus on health promotion and illness prevention.
*Provide goal-directed, client-centered care*:
-Establish mutual goals with clients.
-Show respect for client values, religious beliefs, needs, and preferences.
-Implement interventions to promote client comfort, promote health, prevent illness, or
transition to a peaceful death.
, -Provide client education to foster informed decisions and involvement in care and to
facilitate postdischarge health.
List important nursing organizations. - answer *American Nurses Association (ANA)*
-National professional organization.
-Originally, the ANA focused on establishing standards of nursing to promote high-
quality care and work toward licensure as a means of ensuring adherence to the
standards. The ANA continues to update its standards. Representatives are elected
from the local branches of the state organizations to bring their concerns to the national
level. As such, they track healthcare legislation, serve as liaisons with national
government representatives to inform them of how current and proposed legislation will
affect nursing, and develop and sponsor legislation that will have a positive effect on
nursing and on client care. The ANA publishes educational materials on nursing news,
issues, and standards. The official publication is The American Nurse.
*National League for Nursing (NLN)*
-Establishes and maintains a universal standard of education
-Sets standards for all types of nursing education programs, studies the nursing
workforce, lobbies and participates with other major healthcare organizations to set
policy for the nursing workforce, aids faculty development, funds research on nursing
education, and publishes the journal Nursing Education Perspectives.
*International Council of Nurses (ICN)*
-Federation of national nursing organizations
-Aims to ensure quality nursing care for all, supports global health policies that advance
nursing and improve worldwide health, and strives to improve working conditions for
nurses throughout the world.
*National Student Nurses' Association (NSNA)*
-Represents nursing students in the United States. It is the student counterpart of the
ANA. Like the ANA, this association comprises elected volunteers who advocate on
behalf of student nurses. The NSNA sponsors yearly conventions to address the
concerns of nursing stude
Explain the many roles of the nurse (10 roles), including the role of how to use
evidence-based practice. - answer Roles:
*Direct care provider*: addressing the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs of
the client. (i.e. listening to lung sounds, giving medications, client teaching).
*Communicator*: using interpersonal and therapeutic communication skills to address
the needs of the client, to facilitate communication in the healthcare team, and to advise
the community about health promotion and disease prevention. (i.e. counseling a client,
discussing staffing needs at a unit meeting, providing HIV education at a local school).
*Client/family educator*: assessing and diagnosing the teaching needs of the client,
group, family, or community. Once the diagnosis is made, nurses plan how to meet
these needs, implement the teaching plan, and evaluate its effectiveness. (i.e.
postoperative teaching, prenatal education for siblings, community classes on nutrition).
