A couple of Med/Surg questions...

[ErinRN2B]

These have me completely stumped, and I can't find the answers anywhere in my Med/Surg book. It's driving me crazy! Please help if you can.

"The nurse would assess a client with a history of transient ischemic attacks for"

a) ataxia

b) bouts of hypertension

c) nausea

d) tingling in the extremities

"In assessing function of cranial nerve (CN) I, the nurse offers a client coffee, toothpaste, and alcohol. The client can only identify toothpaste. The nurse would record that CN I is"

a) partially functional

b) not functional

c) functional

d) unable to assess

Thank you so much! :heartbeat

[extermin8tor]

I suggest getting Physical Examination & Health Assessment by Carolyn Jarvis. It covers all of these sorts of questions and has the background information to back it up. It is part of the course work for us RN's in Australia here.

I would stab and say 1)d 2)a.

The 1st cranial nerve is the olfactory nerve which is for the sense of smell and if damaged can affect smell AND taste.

I would say that if the patient can only identify one of the 3, it *could* be partially functional because it doesn't say if they tasted or smelt the substances.

My suggestion is that you cannot answer these questions off the top of your head, you need some more reading and possibly look at the book I suggested.

However come exam time, a lot of the questions are very ambiguous and subjective so always consult with your tutors and teachers, because our nursing exam this year was ridiculous, 90% of the questions were like the ones above.