CHPN Patient Assessment and Planning 4

Question 1

Which component of the nursing assessment MOST directly informs the appropriateness of hospice eligibility for a non-cancer diagnosis?

Accepted Answer

Disease-specific decline criteria and functional status

Answer

For non-cancer diagnoses, hospice eligibility is determined by disease-specific LCD (Local Coverage Determination) criteria combined with evidence of functional decline.

Question 2

A palliative nurse uses the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale (MSAS). What distinguishes MSAS from simpler symptom tools?

Accepted Answer

It captures frequency, severity, and distress for 32 symptoms

Answer

MSAS is a multidimensional tool that assesses 32 symptoms across three dimensions—frequency, severity, and distress—giving a comprehensive symptom burden profile.

Question 3

A hospice nurse is assessing a patient's caregiver for burnout. Which finding is MOST indicative of caregiver strain?

Accepted Answer

Caregiver reports sleep deprivation, resentment, and social isolation

Answer

Sleep deprivation, resentment, and social isolation are hallmark signs of caregiver strain and burnout, requiring targeted support interventions.

Question 4

When performing a spiritual assessment using the FICA framework, the 'I' stands for:

Accepted Answer

Importance and Influence

Answer

In the FICA Spiritual Assessment Tool, 'I' represents Importance and Influence—asking how important spirituality is to the patient and how it influences their health decisions.

Question 5

A dying patient's wife asks the hospice nurse why her husband's hands and feet are mottled and cold. The nurse's BEST response explains that this occurs because:

Accepted Answer

Circulation is withdrawing to vital organs as the body shuts down

Answer

Mottling and cool extremities occur as circulation centralizes to perfuse vital organs in the final stages of dying, not from cold environment or pain.

CHPN - Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse Practice Test

CHPN - Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse Practice Test

CHPN Patient Assessment and Planning 4