Cardiac Vascular Nursing Exam Research & Evidence-Based Practice 5 ā Questions and Answers
Question 1: A cardiac nurse proposes a phenomenological qualitative study exploring the lived experience of patients awaiting heart transplantation. What is the PRIMARY goal of this research approach?
- To identify risk factors predictive of transplant rejection
- To describe and understand the subjective lived experience of participants (Correct answer)
- To determine the optimal waiting list management protocol
- To compare quality of life scores between transplant candidates
Correct answer: To describe and understand the subjective lived experience of participants
Phenomenology aims to explore and describe the essence of lived human experiences from the participants' own perspective, not to quantify or compare outcomes.
Question 2: When appraising a study on antiplatelet therapy duration after drug-eluting stent placement, a nurse finds an IĀ² statistic of 75%. What does this indicate about the meta-analysis?
- 75% of study results favor the intervention
- High heterogeneity exists across the included studies (Correct answer)
- The meta-analysis included 75 studies
- Statistical power is adequate at 75%
Correct answer: High heterogeneity exists across the included studies
An IĀ² of 75% indicates high statistical heterogeneity, meaning there is substantial variability in study results that is not attributable to chance alone.
Question 3: A cardiovascular nursing journal requires that submitted studies report their data collection and analysis methodology in sufficient detail for replication. This requirement addresses which principle of scientific rigor?
- Transferability
- Dependability
- Transparency and reproducibility (Correct answer)
- Reflexivity
Correct answer: Transparency and reproducibility
Transparency and reproducibility require that methods be described in sufficient detail to allow other researchers to replicate or audit the study.
Question 4: A cardiac nurse practitioner uses the GRADE approach to evaluate evidence for a new heart failure guideline recommendation. In GRADE, which factor would DOWNGRADE evidence quality?
- Large effect size in the primary outcome
- Direct evidence from the target population
- Risk of bias identified in included studies (Correct answer)
- Dose-response relationship observed
Correct answer: Risk of bias identified in included studies
In the GRADE framework, evidence quality is downgraded for serious risk of bias, inconsistency, indirectness, imprecision, or publication bias in the underlying studies.
Question 5: A nurse researcher obtains informed consent from patients before enrolling them in a study on vascular wound care. Which ethical principle does this PRIMARILY uphold?
- Beneficence
- Justice
- Respect for autonomy (respect for persons) (Correct answer)
- Nonmaleficence
Correct answer: Respect for autonomy (respect for persons)
Informed consent is the primary mechanism for upholding respect for autonomy (respect for persons), ensuring participants voluntarily agree with full understanding of the study.
Question 6: After reading a case series on a novel cardiac catheterization complication management technique, a nurse evaluates this evidence for protocol adoption. Why is a case series considered LOW-level evidence?
- Case series are too expensive to conduct rigorously
- Case series lack a comparison group and may reflect selection bias (Correct answer)
- Case series are only valid for rare conditions
- Case series cannot be published in peer-reviewed journals
Correct answer: Case series lack a comparison group and may reflect selection bias
Case series describe outcomes in a selected group without a comparison group, making it impossible to determine whether observed outcomes differ from the natural history of disease.
Question 7: A multidisciplinary team conducts a root cause analysis (RCA) after a cardiac monitoring alarm fatigue event leads to a delayed response. Which research method BEST complements RCA findings to develop prevention strategies?
- Double-blind randomized controlled trial
- Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) combined with process mapping (Correct answer)
- Cross-sectional prevalence survey
- Case-control study matching for nurse experience level
Correct answer: Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) combined with process mapping
FMEA proactively identifies potential failure points and their effects before they occur, and when combined with process mapping after an RCA, it provides a comprehensive basis for prevention strategies.
Cardiac Vascular Nursing Exam Research & Evidence-Based Practice 5
A cardiac nurse proposes a phenomenological qualitative study exploring the lived experience of patients awaiting heart transplantation.
What is the PRIMARY goal of this research approach?