NCAS Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which community-based mental health program model emphasizes peer support specialists who have lived experience with mental illness?
- Peer support program / Certified Peer Specialist model (Correct answer)
- Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) only
- Hospital-based inpatient only
- Crisis stabilization without peer support
Correct answer: Peer support program / Certified Peer Specialist model
Certified Peer Specialists use their personal recovery experience to provide support, encouragement, and role modeling for community members with mental illness.
Question 2: A community nurse is providing psychoeducation to a family of a patient with bipolar disorder. Which warning sign of an impending manic episode should the family PRIORITIZE monitoring?
- Decreased need for sleep (sleeping only 3–4 hours but feeling rested) (Correct answer)
- Increased appetite and hypersomnia
- Social withdrawal and flat affect
- Gradual onset of depressive symptoms over weeks
Correct answer: Decreased need for sleep (sleeping only 3–4 hours but feeling rested)
Decreased need for sleep is one of the earliest and most reliable warning signs of an impending manic episode in bipolar disorder and warrants prompt clinical contact.
Question 3: The nurse is providing community education about opioid overdose. Which medication should community members be taught to use in an emergency?
- Naloxone (Narcan) (Correct answer)
- Naltrexone (Vivitrol)
- Buprenorphine (Suboxone)
- Methadone
Correct answer: Naloxone (Narcan)
Naloxone is an opioid antagonist used to rapidly reverse opioid overdose; it is available without a prescription in all 50 US states and is the only option for acute reversal.
Question 4: Which community-level intervention has the strongest evidence for reducing suicide rates in the US?
- Means restriction (e.g., safe storage of firearms, bridge barriers) (Correct answer)
- General wellness campaigns
- Mandatory psychiatric hospitalization for all at-risk individuals
- Eliminating all outpatient mental health services
Correct answer: Means restriction (e.g., safe storage of firearms, bridge barriers)
Means restriction — making lethal methods less accessible — is one of the most evidence-based suicide prevention strategies at the community level.
Question 5: A community mental health nurse uses the Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) model. ACT is BEST described as:
- A multidisciplinary team providing intensive, comprehensive, and flexible community-based psychiatric services (Correct answer)
- Brief inpatient stabilization followed by discharge
- A peer-led support group model only
- A medication management program without therapy
Correct answer: A multidisciplinary team providing intensive, comprehensive, and flexible community-based psychiatric services
ACT provides comprehensive mental health care through a multidisciplinary team including nurses, social workers, and psychiatrists who deliver services in the community rather than clinic settings.
Question 6: Which evidence-based therapy is MOST recommended by clinical guidelines for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment?
- Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) or prolonged exposure therapy (Correct answer)
- Supportive counseling without trauma processing
- Benzodiazepine therapy as first line
- Isolation and rest only
Correct answer: Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) or prolonged exposure therapy
Trauma-focused CBT and prolonged exposure therapy are recommended as first-line evidence-based treatments for PTSD by VA/DoD and APA clinical practice guidelines.
NCAS Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing 2
Which community-based mental health program model emphasizes peer support specialists who have lived experience with mental illness?