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Psych HESI Questions and Answers | Latest Version | 2025/2026 | Correct & Verified
A client with major depression states, “I don’t have the energy to live anymore.” What is the nurse’s priority intervention?
- Suggest the client try exercise.
- Encourage the client to get more sleep.
- Recommend journaling.
✔✔B. Assess the client’s suicide risk.
A client on haloperidol develops a high fever, severe muscle rigidity, and confusion. What condition should the nurse suspect?
- Serotonin syndrome
- Alcohol withdrawal
- Catatonia
✔✔B. Neuroleptic malignant syndrome
A client diagnosed with schizophrenia refuses to eat, saying the food is poisoned. What is the nurse’s best action? 1 / 4
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- Insist the client eat the food.
- Ask family members to bring food.
- Withhold meals until the client eats.
✔✔B. Offer pre-packaged or sealed foods.
A nurse observes a client pacing and clenching fists. What is the priority nursing action?
- Ask the client to sit quietly.
- Begin teaching relaxation skills.
- Offer a snack.
✔✔B. Ensure the safety of the environment.
A client taking lithium reports diarrhea, tremors, and blurred vision. What should the nurse suspect?
- Normal side effects of lithium
- Alcohol withdrawal
- Extrapyramidal symptoms
- / 4
✔✔B. Lithium toxicity
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A client states, “The television is sending me secret messages.” How should the nurse respond?
- “You are imagining things.”
- “Ignore the television and it will stop.”
- “Why do you believe that’s happening?”
✔✔B. “It must feel frightening to think that.”
A client with PTSD complains of frequent nightmares. Which intervention should the nurse recommend?
- Drink caffeine before bed.
- Avoid sleeping during the night.
- Sleep with all the lights on.
✔✔B. Practice relaxation techniques before bedtime.
A client experiencing a panic attack begins to hyperventilate and tremble. What is the nurse’s best action?
- Leave the client alone.
- Ask the client to explain feelings in detail. 3 / 4
✔✔B. Stay with the client and speak calmly.
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- Encourage the client to attend group therapy.
A nurse is teaching a client about sertraline. Which statement indicates understanding?
- “I will feel better within one day.”
- “I can stop it whenever I want.”
- “I should take double doses if I forget one.”
✔✔B. “It may take several weeks to work.”
A client with anorexia nervosa is found with a heart rate of 42 bpm. What is the priority nursing action?
- Document and recheck in an hour.
- Encourage exercise to improve heart rate.
- Offer a high-protein snack.
✔✔B. Notify the healthcare provider immediately.
A client taking clozapine reports fever and sore throat. What is the nurse’s priority intervention?
- Provide fluids and rest.
- / 4
✔✔B. Obtain a white blood cell count.