Question: A patient has taken trifluoperazine 30 mg/day orally for 3 years. The clinic nurse notes that the patient grimaces and constantly smacks both lips. The patient’s neck and shoulders twist in a slow, snakelike motion. Which problem would the nurse suspect?
Answer Choices: a. Agranulocytosis b. Tardive dyskinesia c. Tourette syndrome d. Anticholinergic effects
Answer: b. Tardive dyskinesia
Question: A nurse sits with a patient diagnosed with schizophrenia. The patient starts to laugh uncontrollably, although the nurse has not said anything funny. Select the nurse’s best response.
Answer Choices: a. “Why are you laughing?” b. “Please share the joke with me.” c. “I don’t think I said anything funny.” d. “You are laughing. Tell me what’s happening.”
Answer: d. “You are laughing. Tell me what’s happening.”
Question: Which symptoms are expected for a patient diagnosed with schizophrenia who has disorganization?
Answer Choices: a. Extremes of motor activity, from excitement to stupor b. Socially withdrawn and ineffective communication c. Severe anxiety with ritualistic behavior d. Highly suspicious, delusional behavior
Answer: b. Socially withdrawn and ineffective communication
Question: What assessment findings mark the prodromal stage of schizophrenia?
Answer Choices: a. Withdrawal, magical thinking, poor concentration, and perceptual disturbances b. Auditory hallucinations, ideas of reference, thought insertion, and broadcasting c. Stereotyped behavior, echopraxia, echolalia, and waxy flexibility d. Loose associations, concrete thinking, and echolalia neologisms
Answer: a. Withdrawal, magical thinking, poor concentration, and perceptual disturbances
Question: A patient diagnosed with schizophrenia says, “Everyone has skin lice that jump on you and contaminate your blood.” Which problem is evident?
Answer Choices: a. Poverty of content b. Concrete thinking c. Neologisms d. Paranoia
Answer: d. Paranoia
Question: A patient diagnosed with schizophrenia demonstrates paranoid thinking. The patient angrily tells a nurse, “You are mean and nasty. No one trusts you or wants to be around you.” What is the likely motivation behind this behavior?
Answer Choices: a. Attempting to manipulate the nurse by using negative comments b. The prelude to disorganization and catatonia in the near future c. Jealousy of the nurse’s position of power in the relationship d. Identifying another person’s shortcomings in order to preserve his or her own self-esteem
Answer: d. Identifying another person’s shortcomings in order to preserve his or her own self-esteem
Question: A patient diagnosed with schizophrenia says, “High heat. Last time here. Did you get a coat?” What type of verbalization is evident?
Answer Choices: a. Neologism b. Idea of reference c. Thought broadcasting d. Associative looseness
Answer: d. Associative looseness
Question: A patient diagnosed with schizophrenia has taken a first-generation antipsychotic medication for a year. Hallucinations are less intrusive, but the patient continues to have apathy, poverty of thought, and social isolation. The nurse expects a change to which medication?
Answer Choices: a. Haloperidol b. Olanzapine c. Chlorpromazine d. Diphenhydramine
Answer: b. Olanzapine
Question: The family of a patient diagnosed with schizophrenia is unfamiliar with the illness and their role in recovery. Which type of therapy should the nurse recommend?
Answer Choices: a. Psychoeducational b. Psychoanalytic c. Transactional d. Family
Answer: a. Psychoeducational
Question: A patient diagnosed with schizophrenia has been stable for a year; however, the family now reports the patient is tense, sleeps 3 to 4 hours per night, and has difficulty concentrating. The patient says, “Demons are in the basement and they can come through the floor.” The nurse can correctly assess this information as what?
Answer Choices: a. Need for psychoeducation b. Medication nonadherence c. Chronic deterioration d. Relapse
Answer: d. Relapse
Question: A patient diagnosed with schizophrenia begins to talk about “cracklomers” in the local shopping mall. The term “cracklomers” should be documented using what term?
Answer Choices: a. Neologism b. Concrete thinking c. Thought insertion d. An idea of reference
Answer: a. Neologism
Question: A patient diagnosed with schizophrenia anxiously says, “I can see the left side of my body merging with the wall, then my face appears and disappears in the mirror.” What phenomena is the patient describing?
Answer Choices: a. Derealization b. Concrete thinking c. Abstract thinking d. Depersonalization
Answer: d. Depersonalization
Question: A patient diagnosed with schizophrenia has auditory hallucinations. The patient anxiously tells the nurse, “The voice is telling me to do things.” Select the nurse’s priority assessment question.
Answer Choices: a. “How long has the voice been directing your behavior?” b. “Do the messages from the voice frighten you?” c. “Do you recognize the voice speaking to you?” d. “What is the voice telling you to do?”
Answer: d. “What is the voice telling you to do?”
Question: A patient receiving risperidone reports severe muscle stiffness at 10:30 am. By noon, the patient is diaphoretic, drooling, and has difficulty swallowing. By 4:00 pm, vital signs are body temperature, 102.8°F; pulse, 110 beats/min; respirations, 26 breaths per minute; and blood pressure, 150/90 mm Hg. Select the nurse’s best analysis and action.
Answer Choices: a. Agranulocytosis. Institute reverse isolation. b. Tardive dyskinesia. Withhold the next dose of medication. c. Cholestatic jaundice. Begin a high-protein, low-fat diet. d. Neuroleptic malignant syndrome. Immediately notify the health care provider.
Answer: d. Neuroleptic malignant syndrome. Immediately notify the health care provider.
Question: A patient diagnosed with schizophrenia begins a new prescription for lurasidone HCL. The patient is 5 feet 6 inches tall and currently weighs 204 pounds. Which topic is most important for the nurse to include in the teaching plan related to this medication?
Answer Choices: a. How to recognize tardive dyskinesia?
Answer: Not provided in source.
Question: A patient diagnosed with schizophrenia begins a new prescription for lurasidone HCL. The patient is 5 feet 6 inches tall and currently weighs 204 pounds. Which topic is most important for the nurse to include in the teaching plan related to this medication?
Answer Choices: a. How to recognize tardive dyskinesia? b. Weight management strategies. c. Ways to manage constipation. d. Sleep hygiene measures.
Answer: b. Weight management strategies.
Question: A patient diagnosed with schizophrenia has auditory hallucinations, delusions of grandeur, poor personal hygiene, and motor agitation. Which assessment finding would the nurse regard as a negative symptom of schizophrenia?
Answer Choices: a. Auditory hallucinations b. Delusions of grandeur c. Poor personal hygiene d. Motor agitation
Answer: c. Poor personal hygiene