Can You Pass the NCLEX?

Terminology is extremely important in nursing, and you'll see some simple vocabulary questions on this quiz. However, the actual NCLEX is a test of judgment and decision-making. The questions will be short, but multi-sentence, describing a particular situation and asking questions based on that.

These are the four essential blood types. You don't necessarily have to be a medical professional to know this; people who give blood regularly also know their blood type.

Of course there are times when nurses will need to notify a physician about a patient's status or ask about care. But beware of "call the physician" responses on the NCLEX, because the test is designed to find out what *you* know about signs, symptoms, procedures, medications and more; "notify a doctor" does not clarify any of this.

As a nurse, you'll see the abbreviation "WNL" often; it means that one of a patient's stats is acceptable and healthy. However, cynics in the medical profession joke that this shorthand stands for "We Never Looked."

Magnesium is the 11th-most common element in the human body, and there is a recommended daily dietary intake. It's about 400 mg for men and 300 for women.

Behavioral issues are ones of mental health, like the PTSD the veteran might be exhibiting. Other behavioral health issues include alcoholism, drug abuse and suicidal thoughts.

This is an abbreviation for "bis in die," which is Latin for "twice a day." If Latin isn't your jam, you can remember it by thinking of "bi-" as the prefix for "two" and "d" for "day." (Note: if Latin isn't your jam, though, you're going to have some trouble with medical terminology overall.)

This term is the common one in nursing homes or behavioral-care facilities. To the rest of the world, though, it has romantic implications -- lovers running off to get married.

We bring this up because it underscores the need for clear communication, and especially good handwriting. The abbreviations "mg" and "mcg" are easily confused with each other if not written clearly, and could result in an overdose by a measure of 1,000!

Many people use these words interchangeably, but that's not right. "Dosage" refers to the timing of medication, whether once a day, twice a day, as needed, or so on.

The APGAR score was named for Virginia Apgar, an anesthesiologist with an interest in obstetrics. She developed this test of a newborn's condition in hopes of increasing the survival rate for infants in their first 24 hours.

Home health care nurses often make visits to discharged patients who have had a permanent or semi-permanent change in status; for example, a stroke in which full recovery is unlikely. A nurse will assess how well this patient can perform the "activities of daily living" in their own home, without help.

"APGAR" is both an acronym and a name in honor of its creator. As the former, it stands for "Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity and Respiration." It does not include taking a baby's blood pressure.

Management of care is a sort of "meta" category. It deals with good administration and best practices for working with patients and with other practitioners, whether they're your superiors or your subordinates. It won't include questions about signs, symptoms, medications and the like.

It's best not to offer false assurance, or turn the attention to an anecdote of your own. Nor is this a special situation that requires a clergy member. Offering an open-ended, empathetic response is the best choice.

Confidentiality is an extremely important concept in medical care. The "yeah, but" circumstances above might sound tempting, and a friend might push you for information on those grounds, but you need to stand firm.

The meal of chicken and green beans offers the best nutrition without including high-fat or high-calorie elements.

Nurses with a grounding in modern, evidence-based medicine can have a hard time understanding the mindset of people who refuse care on religious or cultural grounds. But calling a clergy member or pressuring the family is beyond the scope of a nurse's duties.

A "PTT" tests how long it takes a patient's blood to clot; unnaturally slow clotting can indicate an underlying blood disorder that could be life-threatening.

A normal partial thromboplastin time is 20 to 45 seconds. 10 seconds is rather fast, which might be a whole other issue ... but as long as 55 seconds falls in the "too long" category.

Many drugs or herbs (feverfew, above, is an herbal supplement) have have an effect on clotting time, often a lengthening one. Heparin is of special note, because its purpose, as diagnosed, is to thin the blood. If a patient is on any of these, you should expect a longer PTT, and this is acceptable.

These are lobes, or regions, of the brain. Different lobes are responsible for different functions, but many important functions are "global," or seated in several places in the brain, so that a traumatic injury won't wholly wipe out important things like memory. This is why memory loss is often partial, not total.

While you might have a strong intuition about what's going on, only what you literally see goes in the chart. Suspicions of abuse should be followed up on, though, in a discussion with your supervisor.

"Arterial blood gas" is an unfamiliar term to many non-medical people, and sounds a bit scary. However, it refers to the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the bloodstream, which can tell a doctor or nurse if the patient is hypoxic, or low on oxygen.

Any decision to discontinue medication should be discussed with one's doctor. The patient needs to be made (politely) to understand this before she leaves, in order to prevent another heart attack.

You've probably heard health gurus preaching about the importance of being alkaline. This makes health practitioners crazy. Blood pH can't be controlled with diet any more than you control your body temperature by eating hot or cold foods. In addition, "alkaline" does not mean "benign" -- highly alkaline substances are very corrosive, like the interior of an alkaline battery.

"Serum" is a word that might remind you of skincare products or miracle treatments in sci-fi movies. But it's the preferred term for blood levels of, for example, testosterone.

Poorly-controlled diabetes can cause ketoacidosis, which is a buildup of acids called ketones in the blood. During the high-protein diet craze of the 2000s, there was some concern that followers would get ketoacidosis -- but it's hard for a non-diabetic person to diet themselves into ketoacidosis, fortunately.

Headache isn't generally a symptom of ketoacidosis. The signs to look out for are, in addition to the above, confusion, shortness of breath, fatigue, frequent urination and excessive thirst.

The other three choices are within the bounds of a what a nurse does, though they might not be solely his or her responsibility. But explaining a procedure to the patient should be done by the patient's doctor or the surgeon who'll perform it.

Taking a patient to the bathroom is the task above that requires the least amount of medical knowledge, and falls within the skill set of a nursing assistant. Knowing how to safely delegate jobs is an important part of being a nurse.

Paranoid and irrational thinking are signs of schizophrenia, a serious mental disorder with a genetic component. The other three conditions are mental disorders, but rarely involve a break with reality as severe as the ones schizophrenics have.

This term confuses people outside the medical world, because it doesn't have anything to do with "parents." It's refers to something extra-intestinal, like parenteral nutrition administered with an IV.

"Autologous" means that that patient's own blood is used. This cuts the risk of a bad reaction to the blood, and it also lessens the demand on the blood supply from agencies like the Red Cross. The patient should have the blood drawn about six weeks before it'll be needed.

Often, it's OK to crush medication, or open capsules, and take medication in soft food. However, a time-release capsule must be swallowed whole in order to get the time-release effect.