ridiculous test questions

GrnHonu99, RN · Jun 27, 2005

So we just had an exam on basic pt care and therapeutic communication. One of the questions was:
An elderly male post-operative patient is unable to void in the supine position. What is the most appropriate nursing intervention?
a)assist the patient to a standing position
b)ask the patient's wife to assist with the urinal
c)tell the patient he cannot leave the hospital until he voids
d)pour cold water over his genitals
For serious? Share some of your stupidest test questions!

Um..well Ive automatically ruled out D!! lol...was the answer A??

lucky4timesover · Jun 27, 2005

The stupidest test question we had (and yes, people actually missed it) was on our Math test. The question was if an IV started at 0645 is supposed to be stopped in 9 hours then what time will it be done? I laughed at my friend who missed it, she said it looked too easy, lol.:)

Sunny

Aneroo, LPN · Jun 27, 2005

Depending on what the surgery was, I'd say A. Same idea as sitting a pt up to have a BM- just the position the body is used to in voiding, and peeing while laying seems unnatural to folks.

We often used to question which body part professors pulled test questions out of! -Andrea

christvs, DNP, RN, NP · Jun 27, 2005

I would guess the answer is A, but geez, who comes up with these crazy options? I'll never know! :) I used to think nursing professors were on something when they wrote up exams! :chuckle

elizabells, BSN, RN · Jun 27, 2005

I would guess the answer is A, but geez, who comes up with these crazy options? I'll never know! :) I used to think nursing professors were on something when they wrote up exams! :chuckle

Well, I'm pretty sure it was A, but my point about the ridiculosity was D. There was another one about a pt who won't look at his above-knee amputation, and one of the responses was "My goodness, it's not that bad!"

HyperRNRachel · Jun 27, 2005

Darn pouring hot water over the genitals is not listed!

christvs, DNP, RN, NP · Jun 27, 2005

Well, I'm pretty sure it was A, but my point about the ridiculosity was D. There was another one about a pt who won't look at his above-knee amputation, and one of the responses was "My goodness, it's not that bad!"

Honestly, I feel like a lot of the NCLEX practice questions I'm doing also contain strange options! I always wonder how they come up with the stuff! lol

MKANS · Jun 27, 2005

Depending on what the surgery was, I'd say A. Same idea as sitting a pt up to have a BM- just the position the body is used to in voiding, and peeing while laying seems unnatural to folks.
We often used to question which body part professors pulled test questions out of! -Andrea

Congrats on the little one. I know you're excited!!!

Mary

mariedoreen · Jun 28, 2005

Personally I love it when they give me an option that's ridiculous... The odds of my answering the question correctly shoot right up by 25%. What's not to love about that?

RNSuzq1, RN · Jun 29, 2005

Hi Eliza,

I'm guessing with basic pt. care questions, you're in the 1st Semester. That's usually the big "weeding out" semester and as ridiculous or silly some of the possible answers might be, you'll find that some people will choose those. It's all about "critical thinking" and which is the very best answer and unfortunately a lot of people have trouble with that type of thinking and don't always make it.

Some of the people that were in my class had no problem learning and memorizing the material, were actually very bright, but when it came time to put it all together in a "scenario type question", they couldn't think it through properly and came up with the wrong answer. The material and tests keep getting harder and more technical, but as long as you can stay focused, you should be fine. Just know that there's usually 2 answers you can immediately eliminate, the hard part is when you're left with the other 2 and they both seem like they could be the right answer. We've had questions like this and quite a few times the questions were thrown out because they were both correct. Good Luck...

Maggie in NC · Jun 29, 2005

Deductive reasoning works but, you have to have the basics. I tend to over think this stuff. How do you know the patient can actually stand up to void? That was my only concern with using that answer (although it's definitely the best answer to choose!) I guess we're going to have to remember NOT to read too much into the scenario.

Hi Eliza,
I'm guessing with basic pt. care questions, you're in the 1st Semester. That's usually the big "weeding out" semester and as ridiculous or silly some of the possible answers might be, you'll find that some people will choose those. It's all about "critical thinking" and which is the very best answer and unfortunately a lot of people have trouble with that type of thinking and don't always make it.
Some of the people that were in my class had no problem learning and memorizing the material, were actually very bright, but when it came time to put it all together in a "scenario type question", they couldn't think it through properly and came up with the wrong answer. The material and tests keep getting harder and more technical, but as long as you can stay focused, you should be fine. Just know that there's usually 2 answers you can immediately eliminate, the hard part is when you're left with the other 2 and they both seem like they could be the right answer. We've had questions like this and quite a few times the questions were thrown out because they were both correct. Good Luck...