Accident-Error Prevention Practice Test 9
Accident-Error Prevention NCLEX Practice Test
Accident-Error Prevention is a key topic within the NCLEX test plan, located under Safe and Effective Care Environment → Safety and Infection Control → Accident-Error Prevention. This section targets proactive hazard recognition, fall prevention, and safe equipment use to avoid patient harm. Each test contains 50 questions designed to mirror the difficulty and variety of the real exam.
This is the 9th part of the Accident-Error Prevention series. To explore all practice tests under this topic, use the “Back to Main Topic” button at the end of the page.
Continue Learning
In the Accident-Error Prevention Study Cards section, shared by real NCLEX candidates, you’ll find concise summaries and high-yield insights related to the most tested concepts. It’s a perfect space to reinforce challenging topics and sharpen your recall through quick, focused repetitions. Short, powerful, and repeatable!
Accident-Error Prevention Practice Test 9
The nurse is caring for a patient with Meniere's Syndrome. Which of the following nursing interventions is of the highest priority when caring for this patient?
- Discussing treatment options
- Initiating fall risk measures
- Keeping the patient calm during an episode
- Providing teaching on potential causes
Explanation: Answer reason: Meniere’s disease causes episodic vertigo with imbalance, making immediate injury prevention the top priority. Implementing fall precautions (assist with ambulation, keep bed low, call light within reach, reduce environmental hazards) directly addresses the most time-sensitive risk. Calming measures can support symptom control, but they do not mitigate the immediate danger of a fall as reliably as safety interventions. Teaching and discussing long-term management are important but are lower priority than preventing acute harm.
Which of the following children would the nurse identify as a priority for having the greatest risk for choking and suffocating?
- A toddler playing with his 9-year-old brother's construction set
- A 5-year-old eating yogurt for a snack
- An infant covered with a small blanket and asleep in her crib
- A 3-year-old drinking a glass of juice
Explanation: Answer reason: A construction set intended for an older child commonly contains small components that easily obstruct a toddler’s airway. In contrast, yogurt and juice are low choking-risk textures when appropriately supervised and sipped, and they do not involve small solid objects that can lodge in the trachea. While safe sleep concerns exist with loose bedding, the most immediate and high-probability choking hazard among the options is access to small toy parts.
A hospitalized 72 year-old man who uses a walker is receiving diuretic medication and must use the bathroom several times each night. To promote the safety of the patient which is the most appropriate nursing action?
- Keep the side rails up
- Leave the bathroom light on
- Provide a bedside commode
- Withhold the patient's diuretic medication
Explanation: Answer reason: Placing toileting within immediate reach reduces distance walked, time pressure, and chances of tripping or losing balance. Keeping side rails up can be considered a restraint and may increase injury risk if the patient tries to climb over them. Withholding a prescribed diuretic is outside routine nursing scope without an order and could worsen fluid overload or hypertension; environmental and toileting modifications are the safer first-line intervention.
The client diagnosed with a closed head injury is admitted to the rehabilitation department. Which medication order would the nurse question?
- A subcutaneous anticoagulant.
- An intravenous osmotic diuretic.
- An oral anticonvulsant.
- An oral proton pump inhibitor.
Explanation: Answer reason: After a closed head injury, any medication that increases bleeding risk must be scrutinized because even small increases in intracranial bleeding can rapidly worsen neurologic status and raise intracranial pressure. Anticoagulants can precipitate or expand an intracranial hemorrhage, particularly if there is an occult bleed or cerebral contusion. By contrast, osmotic diuretics may be used to manage elevated intracranial pressure, anticonvulsants are commonly used for seizure prophylaxis after head injury, and acid suppression may be used for stress-ulcer prophylaxis. The safest nursing action is to question anticoagulation unless the prescriber clearly documents an overriding indication with appropriate neuroimaging and risk-benefit assessment.
The home care nurse visits a client at home 4 days after a plaster cast has been applied. Which statement by the client would indicate a need for further teaching about the cast?
- I need to check for any hot spots on the cast.
- I need to always keep my cast away from any hard surfaces.
- I need to inspect the cast for any drainage through the cast or cast opening.
- I need to look for any musty unpleasant odor coming from the cast or at the end of the cast.
Explanation: Answer reason: Plaster casts need to be supported on a firm surface (often on a pillow) to prevent cracking, denting, and loss of immobilization, especially while they are drying in the first 24–48 hours. Avoiding all hard surfaces is incorrect and could lead to poor support and increased risk of cast damage and misalignment of the injured extremity. Monitoring for localized warmth (“hot spots”), drainage, or foul/musty odor are appropriate because they can signal pressure injury, infection, or skin breakdown under the cast and require prompt evaluation. Therefore this statement shows misunderstanding of basic cast care and safety.
A client with a short leg plaster cast reports intense itching under the cast. The nurse provides instructions to the client regarding relief measures for the itching. Which statement by the client indicates an understanding of the measures used to relieve the itching?
- "I can use the blunt part of a ruler to scratch the area."
- "I can trickle small amounts of water down inside the cast."
- "I need to obtain assistance when placing an object into the cast for the itching."
- "I can use a hair dryer on the low setting and allow the air to blow into the cast."
Explanation: Answer reason: " Itching under a cast should be managed without introducing objects or moisture because both can cause skin injury, pressure areas, and infection that may go unnoticed. Cool air flow helps reduce heat and humidity under the cast and can provide symptomatic relief without disrupting skin integrity. Scratching with any object (even “blunt”) risks abrasions and ulceration beneath the cast. Adding water increases moisture, maceration, and odor and can weaken plaster and promote microbial growth.
The nurse mentor is observing a new nurse change the ties for a client with a tracheostomy. Which action, if performed by the new nurse, indicates a need for further instruction?
- Auscultating chest sounds before the procedure
- Taping tracheal retention sutures above and below the stoma
- Positioning the client in a supine position before the procedure
- Cleaning under the tracheostomy faceplate after cleaning the stoma
Explanation: Answer reason: Lying supine can worsen breathing by decreasing lung expansion and can increase the chance of secretions pooling and aspiration, especially while manipulating the tracheostomy. The preferred position is semi-Fowler’s or Fowler’s to support oxygenation and patient tolerance during tie changes. While assessing breath sounds and performing stoma/faceplate hygiene are appropriate supportive actions, unsafe positioning during airway care is the key error requiring correction.
The nurse notes that a client sitting in a chair has not gotten up in 1 hour. The client does not respond to verbal directions, and her arm has been extended over the armrest for 30 minutes. Which of the following should the nurse do next?
- Assist the client out of the chair to lead her back to bed.
- Give p.r.n.-ordered doses of haloperidol (Haldol) and lorazepam (Ativan).
- Ask the client to describe what is being experienced right now.
- Sit quietly with the client until she begins to respond.
Explanation: Answer reason: The priority is immediate physical safety and prevention of injury when a client is unresponsive to verbal direction and has maintained an abnormal position long enough to risk impaired circulation, nerve compression, or a fall. Repositioning and assisting her to a safe place addresses the most urgent risk while allowing the nurse to assess responsiveness and potential causes (e.g., medication effect, catatonia, neurologic change). Administering PRN antipsychotic/benzodiazepine is not first-line here because it can worsen sedation and increase fall risk without first addressing the unsafe positioning. Therapeutic communication or waiting may be appropriate later, but delaying action leaves the client at ongoing risk for pressure injury and neurovascular compromise.
Think you’re ready for the NCLEX?
Run through a full 150-question exam just like the real thing. You’ll hit the 85-question checkpoint and get a clear report showing where you stand.