NURS 310 Exam Study Guide Questions
and Answers
Florence Nightingale what is nursing? - Answer-"to put the patient in the best condition
for nature to act upon him"
What is nursing? - Answer-It is the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and
abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis
and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families,
communities, and populations
Who is Virginia Henderson? - Answer-Gave this definition the unique function of the
nurse is to assist the individual, sick or well, in the performance of those activities
contributing to health or its recovery (or to peaceful death) that he would perform
unaided if he had the necessary strength, will or knowledge. And to do this in such a
way as to help him gain independence as rapidly as possible
The nursing process - Answer-The scientific process that nurses use to care for
patients. As a care provider, the nurse follows this process to assess patient data,
prioritize nursing diagnoses, plan the care of the patient, implement the appropriate
interventions, and evaluate care in an ongoing cycle.
Roles of a nurse - Answer-Care provider
Educator
Advocate
Leader
Change Agent
Manager
Researcher
Collaborator
Delegator
A nurse as a care provider - Answer-"The nurse's primary professional responsibility is
to people requiring nursing care". Through education, the nurse acquires critical-thinking
skills to determine the necessary course of action, psychomotor skills to perform the
necessary interventions, interpersonal skills to communicate effectively with the patient
and family, and ethical and legal skills to function within the scope of practice and in
accordance with the profession's code of ethics.
A nurse as an educator - Answer-The nurse ensures that patients receive sufficient
information on which to base consent for care and related treatment. The nurse
assesses learning needs, plans to meet those needs through specific teaching
strategies, and evaluates the effectiveness of patient teaching. Patients need to be
informed about their medications, procedures, diagnostics, and health promotion
,measures. Education becomes a major focus of discharge planning so that patients will
be prepared to handle their own needs at home.
The nurse as an advocate - Answer-As the patient's advocate, the nurse interprets
information and provides the necessary education. The nurse then accepts and
respects the patient's decisions even if they are different from the nurse's own beliefs. It
is up to the nurse to advocate for their patient.
The nurse as a leader - Answer-They must have a sense of commitment toward
common goals. Characteristics of a leader are integrity, creativity, interpersonal skills,
and the ability to think critically and problem-solve.
A nurse as a change agent - Answer-This role requires knowledge of change theory,
which encourages change and provides strategies for effecting change. In this role the
nurse works with patients to address their health concerns and with staff members to
address change in an organization or within a community. This role can be extended to
bringing about change in the legislation on health policy issues.
A nurse as a manager - Answer-A nurse manages all of the activities and treatments for
patients. Promoting, restoring, and maintaining the patient's health requires coordinating
all of the health care providers' services.
A nurse as a researcher - Answer-Although not all nurses may have had research
methodology in their coursework, nurses are often involved in research. Nurses concur
research studies and apply research to practice. They also use Evidence based
practice.
A nurse as a collaborator - Answer-Collaboration is the process by which two or more
people work together toward a common goal. In nursing, collaboration occurs when
RNs, UAP, LPNs, primary care providers, social workers, clergy, and therapists all
interact productively to provide high-quality patient care.
A nurse as a delegator - Answer-Delegation is the process of entrusting or transferring
the responsibility for certain tasks to other personnel, including UAP, licensed vocational
nurses (LVNs), and LPNs. The RN needs to know the scope of practice or capabilities
of each health care member.
Metaparadigm - Answer-the most abstract level of knowledge, is defined as a global set
of concepts that identify and describe the central phenomena of the discipline and
explain the relationship between those concepts
Philosophy - Answer-The next level after Metapradigm. is a statement about the beliefs
and values of nursing in relation to a specific phenomenon such as health. A philosophy
provides guidance in practice.
, Conceptual framework or model - Answer-It is the third level of knowledge. It is a
collection of interrelated concepts that provides direction for nursing practice, research,
and education.
Nursing theory - Answer-The fourth level. It represents a group of concepts that can be
tested in practice and can be derived from a conceptual model.
Grand theory - Answer-Consists of a global conceptual framework that defines broad
perspectives for nursing practice and provides ways of looking at nursing phenomena
from a distinct nursing perspective. Although grand theories are derived from
conceptual frameworks, they remain almost as broad as the framework itself.
Middle-range theory - Answer-Is moderately abstract and has a limited number of
variables. Therefore middle-range theories are more concrete and narrowly focused on
a specific condition or population than are grand theories
Ethics - Answer-is the standards of right and wrong behavior. The ICN and the ANA
each have developed a code of ethics for nurses. Public opinion polls show that nurses
are admired for their nursing ethics and honesty by rating them the highest of all
professionals.
Nurse practice acts - Answer-provide the scope of practice defined by each state or
jurisdiction and set forth the legal limits of nursing practice. These acts are laws that the
nurse must be familiar with to function in practice.
LPN's or LVN - Answer-are not RNs. They complete an educational program consisting
of 12 to 18 months of training, and then they must pass the National Council Licensure
Examination for Practical Nurses (NCLEX-PN) to practice as an LPN/LVN. They are
under the supervision of an RN in most institutions and are able to collect data but
cannot perform an assessment requiring decision making, cannot formulate a nursing
diagnosis, and cannot initiate a care plan. They may update care plans and administer
medications with the exception of certain IV medications.
Belief - Answer-Is a mental representation of reality or a person's perceptions about
what is right (correct), true, or real, or what the person expects to happen in a given
situation
Value - Answer-Are enduring ideas about what a person considers is the good, the best,
and the "right" thing to do and their opposites—the bad, worst, and wrong things to do—
and about what is desirable or has worth in life
First order beliefs - Answer-serve as the foundation or the basis of an individual's belief
system. People begin developing first-order beliefs about what is correct, real, and true
in early childhood directly through experiences (e.g., most nurses are female) and
indirectly from information shared by authority figures such as parents or teachers (e.g.,
anyone, regardless of gender, can become a nurse).