Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Exam Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Exam facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. Which psychiatric disorder is most prevalent among incarcerated individuals in the US, highlighting a major gap in mental health care access? → Substance use disorder comorbid with serious mental illness
2. A patient with schizophrenia believes that a television news anchor is sending personal messages specifically to them. This is an example of: → Ideas of reference
3. The American Nurses Association Code of Ethics requires PMHNPs to address what in relation to cultural competence? → Advocate for health equity and recognize the influence of culture on mental health
4. A PMHNP evaluating a patient in crisis should first prioritize which action? → Establish safety and assess risk of harm to self or others
5. When assessing grief in a patient who lost a spouse 14 months ago with persistent daily yearning and functional impairment, a PMHNP would consider: → Prolonged grief disorder (PGD)
6. Which DSM-5 specifier distinguishes a manic episode with flight of ideas, decreased need for sleep, and grandiosity lasting 4 days without hospitalization? → Hypomanic episode
7. Which legal principle established the duty to warn potential third-party victims of a patient's credible threat of harm? → Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California
8. A care plan is being created by nurse Shenny for a female client who has anorexia nervosa. Which action has to be included in the plan by the nurse? → Set-up a strict eating plan for the client.
9. A PMHNP assessing insight asks a patient, 'Do you think you have a mental illness?' A patient who denies having any illness despite clear evidence demonstrates: → Poor insight
10. Which intervention, according to psychodynamic theory, would be suitable for a patient with a panic disorder? → Discuss the overuse of ego defense mechanisms and their impact on anxiety.
11. A psychiatric patient in crisis states, 'I have a plan and I have the means.' According to risk stratification, this patient is best classified as: → High risk
12. Which personality disorder cluster includes paranoid, schizoid, and schizotypal personality disorders? → Cluster A (odd/eccentric)
13. Which validated tool is commonly used by PMHNPs to assess suicide risk in emergency settings? → Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS)
14. The following is the best method for separating delirium from other types of confusion: → Confusion Assessment Method
15. Dependent personality disorder was identified in a patient who is 20 years old. Which conduct is least likely to be indicative of inadequate personal coping? → Inability to make choices and decisions without advice.
16. A PMHNP screens a patient using the GAD-7 and obtains a score of 15. This score indicates: → Severe anxiety
17. A patient with obsessive-compulsive disorder has spent the past four days in the hospital. Which intervention is most important right now? → Reinforce the use of learned relaxation techniques.
18. In group therapy, the therapeutic factor where patients realize they are not alone in their struggles is called: → Universality
19. Which brief, structured therapy is specifically designed for suicidal patients and focuses on reasons for living and building safety plans? → Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS)
20. When prescribing SSRIs for children and adolescents, the FDA black box warning requires informing families about increased risk of: → Suicidal ideation and behavior in patients under 25
21. A patient reports hearing voices that tell them they are worthless. This auditory hallucination is best characterized as: → Derogatory hallucinations
22. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is the first-line evidence-based treatment for which condition? → Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
23. A PMHNP is assessing an elderly patient for depression. Which instrument is specifically validated for detecting depression in older adults? → Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS)
24. A female patient of Nurse Ashy's is being treated because she has suicidal thoughts. Nurse Ashy should go with the client to the bathroom. → Observe her.
25. A PMHNP is conducting a safety planning intervention. Which element should be placed FIRST on the safety plan? → Warning signs that a crisis may be developing
26. An anxiety attack is plaguing a patient. What should the best nursing intervention contain? → Staying with the client and speaking in short sentences.
27. A female client who has been diagnosed with grandiosity delusions is admitted. According to this diagnostic, the patient is: → Highly famous and important.
28. A PMHNP identifies a patient as having homicidal ideation toward a specific person. Under Tarasoff duty, the clinician must: → Warn the identified victim and notify law enforcement
29. A patient in acute psychotic crisis is agitated and threatening violence. What is the PMHNP's safest first intervention? → Verbal de-escalation in a calm, low-stimulation environment
30. When a PMHNP experiences strong emotional reactions to a patient based on their own unresolved issues, this is called: → Countertransference