MCQ Practice Flashcards
7 cards from real CHPN practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 MCQ Practice flashcards as text
A hospice nurse notes a patient's urine output has dropped to 200 mL over 24 hours. This finding most likely indicates:
Answer: Active dying process with normal physiological shutdown
Decreased urine output in the final days of life reflects normal physiologic shutdown of the dying process, not a condition requiring aggressive intervention.
Which of the following best describes 'total pain' as conceptualized by Dame Cicely Saunders?
Answer: Suffering that encompasses physical, emotional, social, and spiritual dimensions
Saunders' concept of total pain recognizes that suffering in terminal illness is multidimensional, encompassing physical, psychological, social, and spiritual components.
A patient on long-term morphine for cancer pain reports new-onset myoclonus. The most appropriate initial intervention is:
Answer: Opioid rotation to hydromorphone
Myoclonus from opioid metabolite accumulation (morphine-6-glucuronide) is best managed by rotating to a different opioid such as hydromorphone, which has fewer neuroexcitatory metabolites.
A family member asks why their dying loved one is receiving less food and water. The nurse's best response is:
Answer: The body naturally reduces its need for nutrition and hydration at end of life
As death approaches, the body's metabolic needs diminish and reduced oral intake is a natural part of the dying process, not a cause of suffering.
Which ethical principle is MOST directly applied when a competent patient refuses a blood transfusion based on religious beliefs?
Answer: Autonomy
Autonomy grants competent individuals the right to make their own healthcare decisions, including refusal of life-sustaining treatment for religious or personal reasons.
A patient with COPD on hospice develops severe breathlessness. After non-pharmacological measures fail, the most evidence-based pharmacological treatment for dyspnea is:
Answer: Low-dose oral or parenteral opioids
Low-dose opioids are the most evidence-based pharmacological treatment for dyspnea at end of life, reducing the sensation of breathlessness effectively.
The hospice interdisciplinary team meets to update a patient's plan of care. Which team member's role includes addressing the patient's sense of meaning and spiritual distress?
Answer: Chaplain or spiritual care provider
The chaplain or spiritual care provider is the primary team member responsible for assessing and addressing spiritual distress and meaning-making in hospice care.