LVN Mental Health & Psychiatric Nursing 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A patient on the psychiatric unit threatens to harm another patient. After ensuring immediate safety, the LVN's next action is to:
- Document the threat in the medical record
- Notify the charge nurse and follow the unit's protocol for aggressive behavior (Correct answer)
- Ask the patient to explain why they made the threat
- Administer a PRN sedative without consulting the charge nurse
Correct answer: Notify the charge nurse and follow the unit's protocol for aggressive behavior
After ensuring immediate safety, the LVN must notify the charge nurse and follow established protocols, which may include seclusion, restraint, or medication orders from the provider.
Question 2: Which medication is classified as a benzodiazepine and commonly used for acute anxiety?
- Sertraline (Zoloft)
- Lorazepam (Ativan) (Correct answer)
- Quetiapine (Seroquel)
- Bupropion (Wellbutrin)
Correct answer: Lorazepam (Ativan)
Lorazepam (Ativan) is a benzodiazepine that enhances GABA activity, producing rapid anxiolytic and sedative effects used in acute anxiety.
Question 3: Which defense mechanism is a patient using when they say, 'I don't drink too much; my wife just exaggerates everything'?
- Rationalization
- Denial (Correct answer)
- Projection
- Displacement
Correct answer: Denial
Denial involves refusing to acknowledge a painful or threatening reality, as when a person refuses to admit they have a problem with alcohol.
Question 4: A patient with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) reports flashbacks and difficulty sleeping. Which nursing intervention is most appropriate?
- Encourage the patient to fully re-experience the traumatic event in detail
- Help the patient identify triggers and develop grounding techniques (Correct answer)
- Advise the patient to avoid discussing the traumatic event with anyone
- Recommend physical activity to promote fatigue and better sleep
Correct answer: Help the patient identify triggers and develop grounding techniques
Identifying triggers and using grounding techniques helps the patient stay present and reduces the intensity of flashbacks and hyperarousal.
Question 5: An LVN observes a patient stuffing food under the mattress on a psychiatric unit. The most likely explanation for this behavior is:
- The patient is hoarding food due to delusions or paranoia about being poisoned (Correct answer)
- The patient is trying to lose weight by reducing caloric intake
- The patient is bored and engaging in impulsive behavior
- The patient plans to share the food with other patients later
Correct answer: The patient is hoarding food due to delusions or paranoia about being poisoned
On psychiatric units, hoarding food is most often related to paranoid delusions about the safety of the food, a common symptom in psychotic disorders.
Question 6: When caring for a patient in alcohol withdrawal, which symptom indicates the most serious complication requiring immediate intervention?
- Mild hand tremors
- Diaphoresis and anxiety
- Tonic-clonic seizures (Correct answer)
- Nausea and insomnia
Correct answer: Tonic-clonic seizures
Tonic-clonic seizures during alcohol withdrawal (delirium tremens) are life-threatening and require immediate medical intervention including benzodiazepines.
Question 7: Which therapeutic communication technique is the LVN using when they say, 'It sounds like you're feeling frustrated that no one listens to you'?
- Clarification
- Reflection (Correct answer)
- Summarizing
- Offering self
Correct answer: Reflection
Reflection restates the patient's feelings to show understanding and encourage further exploration of emotions.
LVN Mental Health & Psychiatric Nursing 3
A patient on the psychiatric unit threatens to harm another patient.
After ensuring immediate safety, the LVN's next action is to: