Ambulatory Care Test Ambulatory Care Nursing 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A patient scheduled for outpatient knee arthroscopy asks if they can take their daily aspirin the morning of surgery. What is the nurse's best response?
- Yes, aspirin is safe and will not affect the procedure
- No, aspirin should be held for 7–10 days prior as directed by the surgeon (Correct answer)
- Yes, but only take half the usual dose
- No, hold aspirin only 24 hours before surgery
Correct answer: No, aspirin should be held for 7–10 days prior as directed by the surgeon
Aspirin irreversibly inhibits platelets for their 7–10 day lifespan, so surgeons typically require it to be held before elective procedures to reduce bleeding risk.
Question 2: Which patient is MOST appropriate for ambulatory (same-day) surgery rather than inpatient admission?
- A 70-year-old with an ASA class IV requiring a hip replacement
- A 45-year-old ASA class II undergoing elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy (Correct answer)
- A 30-year-old with poorly controlled insulin-dependent diabetes having an appendectomy
- A 55-year-old with a recent myocardial infarction 3 weeks ago needing hernia repair
Correct answer: A 45-year-old ASA class II undergoing elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy
ASA class II patients with controlled comorbidities undergoing short, low-risk procedures are ideal candidates for ambulatory surgery.
Question 3: An ambulatory care nurse is teaching a patient about self-monitoring blood glucose. Using the teach-back method, the nurse asks the patient to demonstrate the process. The patient performs several steps incorrectly. What should the nurse do?
- Document that teach-back was completed and refer the patient to a diabetes educator
- Re-educate on the missed steps and ask the patient to demonstrate again (Correct answer)
- Provide written instructions and have the patient practice at home
- Notify the provider that the patient is non-compliant
Correct answer: Re-educate on the missed steps and ask the patient to demonstrate again
Teach-back requires re-teaching and re-demonstration until the patient can correctly perform all steps before the session ends.
Question 4: A patient with a latex allergy is scheduled for a procedure in the ambulatory care center. Which nursing action is the highest priority?
- Place a latex allergy alert band on the patient
- Schedule the patient as the first case of the day and ensure a latex-free environment (Correct answer)
- Document the allergy in the chart
- Notify dietary to provide latex-free meal trays
Correct answer: Schedule the patient as the first case of the day and ensure a latex-free environment
Scheduling a latex-allergic patient first minimizes airborne latex particle accumulation and ensures a thoroughly latex-free environment before exposure risk escalates.
Question 5: Under the AAACN standards, which activity reflects the ambulatory care nurse's role in population health management?
- Reviewing individual patient charts for coding accuracy
- Identifying patients overdue for cancer screenings and coordinating outreach (Correct answer)
- Performing only direct care during scheduled appointments
- Managing billing disputes for uninsured patients
Correct answer: Identifying patients overdue for cancer screenings and coordinating outreach
Population health management involves proactively tracking and outreaching to cohorts of patients to close care gaps such as missed preventive screenings.
Question 6: A nurse notes that a patient's electronic health record has a documented penicillin allergy, but the provider has ordered amoxicillin. What is the most appropriate nursing action?
- Administer the amoxicillin since it is a different drug than penicillin
- Hold the medication and contact the provider to clarify the order before administering (Correct answer)
- Ask the pharmacist to change the order to a non-penicillin antibiotic
- Document the allergy conflict and administer the dose anyway if no rash develops
Correct answer: Hold the medication and contact the provider to clarify the order before administering
Amoxicillin is a penicillin-class antibiotic; the nurse must clarify with the prescriber before administration due to cross-reactivity risk.
Question 7: A patient calls the clinic three days after starting oral antibiotics for a urinary tract infection and reports diarrhea. Which assessment question is most important for the triage nurse to ask first?
- How many glasses of water are you drinking daily?
- Is the diarrhea bloody, and do you have fever or severe abdominal cramping? (Correct answer)
- Are you taking a probiotic along with the antibiotic?
- How many doses of the antibiotic have you taken so far?
Correct answer: Is the diarrhea bloody, and do you have fever or severe abdominal cramping?
Bloody diarrhea, fever, and severe cramping are red flags for Clostridioides difficile infection, which requires urgent evaluation.
Ambulatory Care Test Ambulatory Care Nursing 3
A patient scheduled for outpatient knee arthroscopy asks if they can take their daily aspirin the morning of surgery.
What is the nurse's best response?