CRRN Certified Rehabilitation Registered Nurse MCQ 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A patient with a new spinal cord injury expresses to the nurse: 'I will never accept this — I'd rather be dead.' The nurse's priority response is to:
- Reassure the patient that many SCI patients lead fulfilling lives
- Perform a structured suicide risk assessment and involve the psychologist immediately (Correct answer)
- Document the statement and notify the physician at the next shift change
- Encourage the patient to focus on therapy goals to build hope
Correct answer: Perform a structured suicide risk assessment and involve the psychologist immediately
Suicidal ideation in newly injured patients is a psychiatric emergency requiring immediate structured risk assessment and interdisciplinary psychological intervention.
Question 2: In rehabilitation, the nurse's role in family education is best described as:
- Providing all medical information only to the designated legal next of kin
- Teaching caregiving skills and home safety modifications to support the patient's successful community reintegration (Correct answer)
- Limiting family involvement to prevent patient dependency on caregivers
- Reserving family education exclusively for discharge day to ensure information recency
Correct answer: Teaching caregiving skills and home safety modifications to support the patient's successful community reintegration
Family education throughout the rehabilitation stay builds caregiver competency, addresses home modification needs, and improves outcomes for community reintegration.
Question 3: Which ethical principle is the rehabilitation nurse applying when ensuring a patient with intact decision-making capacity can refuse a recommended therapy?
- Beneficence
- Justice
- Autonomy (Correct answer)
- Non-maleficence
Correct answer: Autonomy
Autonomy is the ethical principle that respects a competent patient's right to make informed decisions about their own care, including the right to refuse treatment.
Question 4: A rehabilitation nurse notices that a certified nursing assistant is completing all of a patient's ADLs rather than allowing the patient to perform them independently. The nurse should:
- File a formal complaint with the facility administrator immediately
- Redirect the CNA by explaining that patient participation in ADLs is a core therapeutic goal in rehabilitation (Correct answer)
- Perform the ADLs with the CNA to model the correct approach
- Allow the CNA to continue since it saves time and prevents patient fatigue
Correct answer: Redirect the CNA by explaining that patient participation in ADLs is a core therapeutic goal in rehabilitation
In rehabilitation, performing ADLs is therapeutic; the nurse must educate all team members that allowing patient participation — even if slower — supports functional recovery.
Question 5: When conducting a discharge planning assessment for a stroke patient returning home with a spouse as caregiver, the rehabilitation nurse should prioritize:
- Assessing the caregiver's physical and emotional capacity to provide care safely (Correct answer)
- Ensuring the patient can perform all ADLs independently before discharge
- Scheduling outpatient therapy before assessing the home environment
- Arranging nursing home placement if any ADL assistance is needed
Correct answer: Assessing the caregiver's physical and emotional capacity to provide care safely
Caregiver capacity — including physical ability, knowledge, emotional readiness, and support systems — is central to safe discharge planning and prevention of caregiver burnout.
Question 6: The rehabilitation nurse is a member of an interdisciplinary team (IDT). Which statement best distinguishes an interdisciplinary team from a multidisciplinary team?
- An IDT includes a physician while a multidisciplinary team does not
- In an IDT, disciplines work collaboratively toward shared goals with integrated care plans rather than independently (Correct answer)
- A multidisciplinary team always includes more specialties than an IDT
- IDT members communicate only through written documentation
Correct answer: In an IDT, disciplines work collaboratively toward shared goals with integrated care plans rather than independently
Interdisciplinary teams are defined by collaborative integration of disciplines around shared patient goals, whereas multidisciplinary teams may each work in parallel silos without integration.
Question 7: A patient is being discharged home after rehabilitation for a stroke with residual right hemiparesis. Which community resource should the rehabilitation nurse prioritize recommending?
- Acute inpatient rehabilitation readmission within 30 days for further gains
- Home health therapy and outpatient stroke support group to maintain function and social participation (Correct answer)
- Long-term skilled nursing facility placement due to residual deficits
- Hospice services to provide comfort-focused care at home
Correct answer: Home health therapy and outpatient stroke support group to maintain function and social participation
Home health therapy continues functional gains after inpatient discharge, while stroke support groups address psychosocial needs and community reintegration.
CRRN Certified Rehabilitation Registered Nurse MCQ 5
A patient with a new spinal cord injury expresses to the nurse: 'I will never accept this — I'd rather be dead.' The nurse's priority response is to: