HESI Fundamentals Practice Questions: 25 Questions With Answers
Preparing for a HESI nursing exam can feel overwhelming when you are trying to review several nursing concepts at once. One useful way to prepare is to work through practice questions and pay attention to why an answer is correct. This set contains 25 original practice questions covering fundamental nursing concepts such as safety, infection prevention, communication, assessment, documentation, positioning, and patient care. Important: These are original Naxles practice questions. They are not official HESI or Elsevier questions.
1. Which action is most important before a nurse begins caring for a new patient?
- A. Review the patient's meal preference
- B. Perform hand hygiene
- C. Adjust the patient's television
- D. Obtain the patient's discharge papers
- Answer: B
Rationale: Hand hygiene is one of the most important measures for reducing the spread of microorganisms.
2. A nurse enters a patient's room and finds the patient lying on the floor. What should the nurse do first?
- A. Help the patient back into bed
- B. Complete an incident report
- C. Assess the patient for injury
- D. Call the patient's family
- Answer: C
Rationale: The patient's condition must be assessed before moving the patient or completing documentation.
3. Which communication technique encourages a patient to provide more information?
- A. Asking open-ended questions
- B. Changing the subject
- C. Giving advice immediately
- D. Asking only yes-or-no questions
- Answer: A
Rationale: Open-ended questions encourage patients to describe their concerns in their own words.
4. Which finding should a nurse document objectively?
- A. “Patient seems annoying.”
- B. “Patient appears lazy.”
- C. “Patient reports pain of 7/10.”
- D. “Patient is probably exaggerating.”
- Answer: C
Rationale: The patient's reported pain score is objective documentation of the patient's stated experience.
5. Which intervention helps reduce fall risk?
- A. Keeping frequently used items within reach
- B. Keeping the room completely dark
- C. Raising all four side rails
- D. Removing the call light
- Answer: A
Rationale: Keeping needed items within reach reduces unnecessary movement and helps promote safety.
6. What is the primary purpose of using two patient identifiers?
- A. To improve patient satisfaction
- B. To prevent identification errors
- C. To reduce documentation
- D. To speed up medication administration
- Answer: B
7. Which position generally promotes lung expansion?
- A. Supine
- B. Prone
- C. High-Fowler's
- D. Trendelenburg
- Answer: C
8. A patient tells the nurse, “I am scared about my diagnosis.” What is the best response?
- A. “Don't worry.”
- B. “Everything will be fine.”
- C. “Tell me more about what concerns you.”
- D. “You should talk to your family.”
- Answer: C
Rationale: This response acknowledges the patient's concern and encourages therapeutic communication.
9. Which action is appropriate when removing contaminated gloves?
- A. Touch the outside of both gloves with bare hands
- B. Remove them carefully and perform hand hygiene
- C. Wash the gloves before removing them
- D. Place them in a patient's bedside drawer
- Answer: B
10. Which observation should be reported promptly?
- A. A patient reading a book
- B. A sudden change in mental status
- C. A patient requesting water
- D. A patient watching television
- Answer: B
11. Which nursing action demonstrates patient advocacy?
- A. Making decisions without the patient
- B. Supporting the patient's informed choices
- C. Ignoring patient concerns
- D. Refusing to answer questions
- Answer: B
12. What is the best reason for documenting nursing care promptly?
- A. It reduces the need for communication
- B. It provides an accurate record of care
- C. It makes the chart longer
- D. It replaces verbal communication completely
- Answer: B
13. Which action helps prevent pressure injuries?
- A. Repositioning patients according to their care plan
- B. Keeping skin wet
- C. Avoiding skin assessments
- D. Restricting all movement
- Answer: A
14. A nurse is preparing to measure blood pressure. Which factor can affect the reading?
- A. Cuff size
- B. Patient's favorite food
- C. Room decoration
- D. Patient's shoe size
- Answer: A
15. Which statement about standard precautions is correct?
- A. They apply only to patients with known infections.
- B. They are used with all patients as appropriate.
- C. They eliminate the need for hand hygiene.
- D. They require isolation of every patient.
- Answer: B
16. A patient refuses a procedure after receiving an explanation. What should the nurse do?
- A. Force the procedure
- B. Ignore the refusal
- C. Respect the patient's decision and follow the appropriate process
- D. Ask another patient to convince them
- Answer: C
17. Which action is appropriate when receiving a verbal order?
- A. Ignore it
- B. Clarify and accurately document it according to policy
- C. Change the order
- D. Ask another patient what it means
- Answer: B
18. Which patient should generally receive attention first?
- A. Patient requesting a blanket
- B. Patient with sudden difficulty breathing
- C. Patient asking about lunch
- D. Patient requesting television assistance
- Answer: B
19. What is the purpose of a nursing assessment?
- A. To collect relevant patient information
- B. To replace the medical record
- C. To determine hospital billing
- D. To eliminate patient interviews
- Answer: A
20. Which action demonstrates active listening?
- A. Interrupting frequently
- B. Looking away throughout the conversation
- C. Clarifying what the patient has said
- D. Changing the topic quickly
- Answer: C
21. What should a nurse do after a medication error is discovered?
- A. Hide the error
- B. Follow the organization's reporting and patient-safety procedures
- C. Delete the documentation
- D. Blame another staff member
- Answer: B
22. Which is an example of objective data?
- A. “I feel dizzy.”
- B. “I am nervous.”
- C. Blood pressure of 142/88 mmHg
- D. “My stomach hurts.”
- Answer: C
23. Which action helps maintain patient privacy?
- A. Discussing patients in public areas
- B. Sharing information with anyone who asks
- C. Limiting patient information to appropriate people and settings
- D. Leaving records open in public areas
- Answer: C
24. Why should a nurse verify a patient's identity before providing care?
- A. To reduce the chance of errors
- B. To make documentation easier
- C. To shorten the patient's stay
- D. To avoid talking to the patient
- Answer: A
25. Which concept should guide nursing care?
- A. Safety
- B. Guesswork
- C. Personal preference of the nurse
- D. Speed above all else
- Answer: A
Final Takeaway
HESI Fundamentals questions often test whether you can recognize safe nursing practice, appropriate communication, prioritization, assessment, and basic patient-care principles. When practicing, don't simply memorize answers. Ask yourself:
- Why is this answer safest?
- What should the nurse do first?
- What information is most important?
- Which option represents therapeutic communication?
- Which finding requires immediate attention?
