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 patient with advanced cancer reports neuropathic pain described as burning and shooting. In addition to opioids, which adjuvant analgesic is MOST appropriate?
Answer: Gabapentin
Gabapentin (and pregabalin) are first-line adjuvant analgesics for neuropathic pain, acting on calcium channels to reduce neuronal excitability.
Under the Medicare Hospice Benefit, which service is NOT typically covered?
Answer: Curative chemotherapy for the terminal diagnosis
The Medicare Hospice Benefit requires patients to forgo curative treatment for their terminal illness; disease-modifying or curative therapies are not covered under the hospice benefit.
A hospice nurse observes a patient with Cheyne-Stokes respirations. This breathing pattern is characterized by:
Answer: Periods of apnea alternating with cycles of increasing and decreasing respiratory depth
Cheyne-Stokes respiration is a cyclical pattern of waxing and waning tidal volumes with periodic apnea, common in the final hours to days of life.
When a patient lacks decision-making capacity and has no advance directive, the legal hierarchy for surrogate decision-making in most US states typically begins with:
Answer: The legal next of kin (spouse or adult children)
In the absence of an advance directive or durable power of attorney for health care, most US states recognize the legal next of kin—spouse, then adult children—as the default surrogate decision-maker.
A hospice nurse is preparing a patient for discharge to home. Which teaching is MOST critical for the family managing opioid medications?
Answer: Store opioids in a locked location away from children and visitors
Opioid medications must be stored securely in a locked location to prevent accidental ingestion by children or diversion by visitors.
Which of the following is the hallmark distinction between palliative care and hospice care?
Answer: Palliative care can be provided alongside curative treatment at any disease stage
Palliative care can be integrated at any stage of serious illness alongside curative treatment, while hospice requires forgoing curative therapy and a terminal prognosis.
A patient receiving parenteral nutrition at home enrolls in hospice. The hospice team should:
Answer: Discuss with the patient and family the goals, benefits, and burdens of continued parenteral nutrition
The decision to continue or discontinue parenteral nutrition in hospice requires a goals-of-care conversation weighing potential burdens against perceived benefits for that individual patient.