FREE NEX Critical Thinking Questions and Answers

Question 1

A hospital memo states: 'To reduce the rate of hospital-acquired infections, all clinical staff must strictly adhere to the new 5-step handwashing protocol before and after every patient contact.' What is the primary assumption the hospital administration is making?

Accepted Answer

The new protocol is superior to the old one for preventing infections.

Answer

The administration's core belief is that there is a direct causal link between the action (implementing a new handwashing protocol) and the desired outcome (reducing infections). This assumes that better hand hygiene is an effective method for preventing the spread of pathogens in a hospital setting.

Question 2

A patient chart notes the following: fatigue, unintended weight loss, and persistent cough for the last month. Based only on this information, which of the following is the most reasonable inference?

Accepted Answer

The patient's symptoms require further medical investigation.

Answer

The combination of symptoms is concerning and non-specific, meaning they could be caused by various conditions. Therefore, the most logical and safe conclusion is that a medical workup is necessary to determine the cause, rather than jumping to a specific diagnosis or dismissing the symptoms.

Question 3

A nurse manager argues, 'We should switch to 12-hour shifts because a study at City General Hospital showed it improved staff morale and reduced overtime costs.' Which of the following statements, if true, would most weaken the manager's argument?

Accepted Answer

City General Hospital has a much lower nurse-to-patient ratio than our hospital.

Answer

The manager's argument relies on the assumption that what worked at City General will work at their hospital. If City General has a significantly different and more favorable nurse-to-patient ratio, it introduces a critical variable that could account for the positive results, making the comparison invalid and weakening the argument.

Question 4

Premise 1: All patients who receive a full course of Antibiotic Z are cured. Premise 2: Mr. Jones was not cured. What can be logically concluded from these two premises?

Accepted Answer

Mr. Jones did not receive a full course of Antibiotic Z.

Answer

This is a logical deduction known as modus tollens. If the first premise (if P, then Q) is true, then the absence of the outcome (not Q) must mean the absence of the condition (not P). Since Mr. Jones was not cured, he could not have received the full course of the antibiotic.

Question 5

A public health campaign poster reads: 'Our city has seen a 15% increase in gym memberships and a 10% decrease in heart disease cases over the past five years. Join a gym and protect your heart!' This campaign's conclusion relies on which of the following assumptions?

Accepted Answer

The increase in gym memberships is a direct cause of the reduction in heart disease.

Answer

The poster implies a causal relationship between the increase in gym memberships and the decrease in heart disease. For this to be plausible, it must assume that the people joining gyms are the same ones experiencing better health outcomes, and that their gym activity is the cause.

(NEX) Nursing Entrance Exam Practice Test

(NEX) Nursing Entrance Exam Practice Test

FREE NEX Critical Thinking Questions and Answers