LPN Patient Care & Clinical Skills 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A patient on bed rest develops redness over the sacrum that blanches with pressure. What stage is this pressure injury?
- Stage 1 (Correct answer)
- Stage 2
- Stage 3
- Unstageable
Correct answer: Stage 1
Stage 1 pressure injuries present as non-blanchable redness — if the redness blanches, it is pre-stage (at-risk skin), not yet a confirmed pressure injury.
Question 2: When performing a sterile dressing change, the LPN accidentally touches the sterile field with an ungloved hand. What is the correct action?
- Continue the procedure carefully
- Discard contaminated supplies and start over (Correct answer)
- Apply alcohol to the touched area and continue
- Document the break in technique and proceed
Correct answer: Discard contaminated supplies and start over
Any breach of sterile technique requires discarding contaminated items and establishing a new sterile field to prevent infection.
Question 3: An LPN is inserting a urinary catheter in a female patient. After inflating the balloon, the patient reports pain. What should the LPN do first?
- Reassure the patient that this is normal
- Deflate the balloon and reposition the catheter (Correct answer)
- Administer a PRN analgesic
- Secure the catheter to the inner thigh and monitor
Correct answer: Deflate the balloon and reposition the catheter
Pain after balloon inflation suggests the balloon may be in the urethra rather than the bladder, requiring immediate deflation and repositioning.
Question 4: Which position is most appropriate for a patient experiencing an acute asthma attack?
- Supine with legs elevated
- High Fowler's (90 degrees) (Correct answer)
- Left lateral recumbent
- Prone position
Correct answer: High Fowler's (90 degrees)
High Fowler's position maximizes lung expansion and reduces respiratory effort during an acute asthma attack.
Question 5: A patient's nasogastric tube feeding is infusing when the nurse assesses a residual volume of 300 mL. What is the priority action?
- Continue the feeding and reassess in 1 hour
- Stop the feeding and notify the provider (Correct answer)
- Discard the residual and resume feeding
- Decrease the feeding rate by half
Correct answer: Stop the feeding and notify the provider
A gastric residual volume of 300 mL or more indicates delayed gastric emptying and risk of aspiration, requiring the provider to be notified.
Question 6: The LPN is caring for a patient post-appendectomy. Which finding requires immediate reporting to the charge nurse?
- Mild incision tenderness on palpation
- Temperature of 38.8°C (101.8°F) on postoperative day 3 (Correct answer)
- Serosanguineous drainage on the dressing
- Bowel sounds present in all four quadrants
Correct answer: Temperature of 38.8°C (101.8°F) on postoperative day 3
A fever of 38.8°C on postoperative day 3 may indicate surgical site infection or other complication requiring prompt provider evaluation.
Question 7: An LPN is measuring urine output for a patient on strict intake and output. The patient voids 240 mL at 0800 and 180 mL at 1200. What is the total output for the shift so far?
- 180 mL
- 240 mL
- 420 mL (Correct answer)
- 460 mL
Correct answer: 420 mL
Total output is calculated by adding all measured urine volumes: 240 mL + 180 mL = 420 mL.
LPN Patient Care & Clinical Skills 2
A patient on bed rest develops redness over the sacrum that blanches with pressure.
What stage is this pressure injury?