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

of the patient’s abilities to meet the goal are all appropriate to document in the