Mental Health & Psychiatric Nursing Flashcards
6 cards from real Healthcare and Nursing practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Mental Health & Psychiatric Nursing flashcards as text
A patient taking lithium reports nausea, tremors, and blurred vision. The nurse's priority action is to:
Answer: Check the serum lithium level immediately
These symptoms suggest lithium toxicity; a serum level must be obtained immediately as lithium has a narrow therapeutic index (0.6–1.2 mEq/L).
Which is a positive symptom of schizophrenia?
Answer: Auditory hallucinations
Positive symptoms represent an excess or distortion of normal function; auditory hallucinations (hearing voices) are a classic positive symptom of schizophrenia.
What is the correct approach when a patient is experiencing a panic attack?
Answer: Stay with the patient, speak calmly, and guide slow breathing
Staying with the patient provides safety, while calm reassurance and guided breathing activate the parasympathetic nervous system to reduce panic.
A nurse is using the CAGE questionnaire. What condition is it used to screen for?
Answer: Alcohol use disorder
The CAGE questionnaire (Cut down, Annoyed, Guilty, Eye-opener) is a validated screening tool specifically for alcohol use disorder.
Which medication requires dietary tyramine restriction to prevent hypertensive crisis?
Answer: MAOIs
MAOIs block breakdown of tyramine from foods like aged cheese and cured meats, causing dangerous catecholamine release and severe hypertension.
A patient in alcohol withdrawal is at greatest risk for which life-threatening complication?
Answer: Seizures and delirium tremens
Alcohol withdrawal can progress to delirium tremens (DTs) with severe autonomic instability and seizures, which carry a significant mortality risk if untreated.