Psychosocial Emergencies Flashcards
7 cards from real CPEN practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Psychosocial Emergencies flashcards as text
A 17-year-old presents with racing thoughts, decreased need for sleep, grandiosity, and risky behavior for the past week. These symptoms are MOST consistent with:
Answer: A manic episode requiring psychiatric evaluation
Elevated mood, decreased sleep need, grandiosity, and risky behavior lasting at least a week are hallmark features of a manic episode.
A 6-year-old being evaluated for suspected sexual abuse tells the nurse details about the abuse spontaneously. The BEST nursing response is:
Answer: Listen without interruption, use open-ended prompts, and document the child's exact words
Using open-ended prompts, listening without leading questions, and documenting exact words preserves the integrity of disclosure for forensic purposes.
Which of the following statements about pediatric grief in the ED setting is MOST accurate?
Answer: Providing honest, age-appropriate explanations reduces long-term psychological harm
Age-appropriate honest communication about death supports healthy grief processing and reduces long-term psychological sequelae in children.
A nurse suspects that a parent is fabricating symptoms in their 8-year-old, who has had 12 ED visits in the past year for unverifiable complaints. This presentation is concerning for:
Answer: Medical child abuse (formerly Munchausen syndrome by proxy)
Repeated ED visits for unverifiable symptoms, with a caregiver who appears to induce or fabricate illness, is the classic pattern of medical child abuse.
A 16-year-old presents with paranoia, auditory hallucinations, and disorganized speech that began three weeks ago. After ruling out substance use and medical causes, the nurse anticipates collaboration with psychiatry for which diagnosis?
Answer: Brief psychotic disorder or first-episode psychosis evaluation
New-onset psychotic symptoms lasting less than a month after medical and substance causes are excluded point to brief psychotic disorder or first-episode psychosis.
When performing a mental status examination on a child in the ED, which domain assesses whether the child knows today's date and where they are?
Answer: Orientation
Orientation assesses awareness of person, place, and time and is a core component of the mental status examination.
A 14-year-old with a known history of ADHD is brought in by police after a violent outburst at school. The nurse should FIRST:
Answer: Ensure the environment is safe and assess for co-occurring psychiatric disorders or substance use
Ensuring environmental safety and performing a comprehensive assessment for co-occurring conditions is the priority before any intervention.