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1. A nurse who is caring for a patient with a pressure ulcer applies the
recommended dressing according to hospital policy. Which standard is the
nurse following?
a. Fairness
b. Intellectual standards
c. Independent reasoning
d. Institutional practice guidelines
ANS: D
The standards of professional responsibility that a nurse tries to achieve are
the standards cited in Nurse Practice Acts, institutional practice guidelines
(hospital/facility policy), and professional organizations’ standards of
practice (e.g., The American Nurses Association Standards of Professional
Performance). Intellectual standards are guidelines or principles for rational
thought. Fairness and independent reasoning are two examples of critical
thinking attitudes that are designed to help nurses make clinical decisions.
2. A nurse is reviewing care plans. Which finding, if identified in a plan of
care, should the registered nurse revise?
a. Patient’s outcomes for learning
b. Nurse’s assumptions about hospital discharge
c. Identification of several actual health problems
d. Documentation of patient’s ability to meet the goal
ANS: B
The nurse should not assume when a patient is going to be discharged and
document this information in a plan of care. Making assumptions is not an
example of a critical thinking skill. The purpose of the nursing process is to
diagnose and treat human responses (e.g., patient symptoms, need for
knowledge) to actual or potential health problems. Use of the process allows
nurses to help patients meet agreed-on outcomes for better health. The
patient’s outcomes, having several actual health problems, and a description 1
of the patient’s abilities to meet the goal are all appropriate to document in the
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