Registered Nurse RN

Registered Nurse, Free Care Plans, Free NCLEX Review, Nurse Salary, and much more. Join the nursing revolution.

  • RN
    • Nursing Clinical Skills
  • Nursing Videos
  • Blog
  • Nursing School
  • Nursing Care Plans
  • Nursing Quizzes
  • Nursing
  • Nursing Jobs
  • NCLEX Review
  • Store

Health Assessment NCLEX Review Questions

These are two NCLEX review questions for health assessment. These questions provide two scenarios about performing a head-to-assessment on a patient and requires you to use nursing knowledge in how you will proceed with the assessment, along with identifying lymph nodes in the neck.

This question is one of the many questions we will be practicing in our new series called “Weekly NCLEX Question”.

So, every week be sure to tune into our YouTube Channel for the NCLEX Question of the Week.

More NCLEX Weekly Practice Questions.

Health Assessment NCLEX Style Questions

Question 1:

You’re performing a head-to-toe assessment on a patient admitted with abdominal pain. During inspection of the abdomen, you note the abdominal contour to be round and distended with no masses or lesions present. The patient reports that their last bowel movement was one hour ago, and the stool was loose. In addition, the patient states that the abdominal pain is located below the umbilicus and is sharp in quality. After inspection of the abdomen, you will:

A. Perform light palpation on the abdomen, followed by deep palpation.

B. Percuss the abdomen.

C. Auscultate for bowel sounds by starting in the right lower quadrant.

D. Palpate for bruits and rebound tenderness.

To answer this question, you want to think about the sequence in how you assess each system of the body.

Normally, the nurse will:

  • Inspect
  • Palpate
  • Percuss
  • Auscultate

BUT this is not the case with the abdomen! Auscultation will be second instead of last. Therefore, the sequence will be like this:

  • Inspect
  • Auscultate
  • Percuss
  • Palpate

Based on the scenario, we have already INSPECTED the abdomen. Now, it is time to auscultate it.

WHY is this process switched for the abdomen? Because when you palpate and percuss the abdomen you are pushing on the intestines, which contain gastric contents. As you push around on the abdomen, this can alter bowel sounds that may have not presented normally if you didn’t cause them to. Therefore, you want to auscultate before you even touch the abdomen. Auscultating will include listening to bowel sounds and vascular sounds (aorta, renal artery, iliac artery, and femoral artery) for bruits.

Therefore, the answer is C.

Question 2:

You’re performing a head-to-toe assessment on a patient. While palpating the lymph nodes of the neck, the patient reports tenderness at the following location.

health assessment, nclex, question, lymph nodes

When you document the findings of the head-to-toe assessment, you will note that the patient felt tenderness at which lymph node site?

A. Preauricular

B. Submandibular

C. Superficial cervical

D. Jugulodigastric

To answer this question, you must think back to your health assessment knowledge regarding the locations and names of each lymph node site in the neck.

The names of the main lymph nodes in the neck are:

  • Preauricular
  • Postauricular
  • Occipital
  • Jugulodigastric (Tonsillar)
  • Submandibular
  • Submental
  • Parotid
  • Superficial Cervical
  • Deep Cervical Chain
  • Posterior Cervical
  • Supraclavicular

Their locations are here:

health assessment, nclex, question, lymph nodes

The answer is D.

Please Share:

  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)
Nursing Gear

RSS Latest YouTube Videos

  • Postpartum Hair Loss while Breastfeeding | My Hair Care Routine
  • Medication Abbreviations Frequencies/Orders | Medical Terminology | Nursing NCLEX Review
  • Baby's First Food Reaction at 6 Months Old | How to Start Solids | Pediatric Nursing
  • Inversion and Eversion of the Foot, Ankle | Body Movement Terms Anatomy

Recent Posts

  • Postpartum Hair loss
  • Medication Abbreviation Frequencies for Administration Times and Orders in Nursing
  • Medication Abbreviation Frequencies Time and Orders Quiz (Nursing)
  • Baby’s First Food

Disclosure and Privacy Policy

This website provides entertainment value only, not medical advice or nursing protocols. We strive for 100% accuracy, but nursing procedures and state laws are constantly changing. By accessing any content on this site or its related media channels, you agree never to hold us liable for damages, harm, loss, or misinformation. See our full disclosure and privacy policy. Copyright Notice: Do not copy this site, articles, images, or its contents without permission.

Important Links

  • Advertise
  • Contact Us

Follow Us on Social Media

  • Facebook Nursing
  • Instagram Nursing
  • Twitter Nursing
  • YouTube Nursing

Get Free Email Updates:

Enter your email address below and hit "Submit" to receive free email updates and nursing tips.

Copyright © 2021 RegisteredNurseRN.com. All Rights Reserved.