Physical Examination and Assessment Study Guide Questions
Course Introduction
This course provides students with a comprehensive foundation in the principles and techniques of physical examination and assessment. Emphasizing the integration of theory with hands-on practice, students learn to systematically collect health histories, conduct thorough head-to-toe assessments, and accurately interpret normal and abnormal findings. The curriculum covers key body systems, clinical reasoning, communication skills, and the importance of cultural sensitivity in patient interactions. Through a combination of lectures, simulations, and practical lab sessions, students develop the critical skills necessary to perform effective physical examinations fundamental to clinical practice in healthcare.
Recommended Textbook
Seidels Guide to Physical Examination 9th Edition by Jane W. Ball
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26 Chapters
648 Verified Questions
648 Flashcards
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Chapter 1: The History and Interviewing Process
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22 Verified Questions
22 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) When interviewing older adults, the examiner should:
A) speak extremely loudly, because most older adults have significant hearing impairment.
B) provide a written questionnaire in place of an interview.
C) position himself or herself facing the patient.
D) dim the lights to decrease anxiety.
Answer: C
Q2) Periods of silence during the interview can serve important purposes, such as:
A) allowing the clinician to catch up on documentation.
B) promoting calm.
C) providing time for reflection.
D) increasing the length of the visit.
Answer: C
Q3) Direct questioning about domestic violence in the home should be:
A) a routine component of history taking with female patients.
B) avoided for fear of offending the woman's partner.
C) conducted only in cases in which there is a history of abuse.
D) used only when the patient is obviously being victimized.
Answer: A
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3
Chapter 2: Cultural Competency
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18 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) An example of a cold condition is:
A) a fever.
B) a rash.
C) tuberculosis.
D) an ulcer.
Answer: C
Q2) Which variables can intrude on successful communication? (Select all that apply.)
A) Social class
B) Gender
C) Stereotype
D) Phenotype
E) Age
Answer: A, B, E
Q3) The attitudes of the healthcare professional:
A) are largely irrelevant to the success of relationships with the patient.
B) do not influence patient behavior.
C) are difficult for the patient to sense.
D) are culturally derived.
Answer: D
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Examination Techniques and Equipment
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29 Verified Questions
29 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) According to the guidelines for Standard Precautions, the caregiver's hands should be washed:
A) only after touching body fluids with ungloved hands and between patient contacts.
B) only after touching blood products with ungloved hands and after caring for infectious patients.
C) only after working with patients who are thought to be infectious.
D) after touching any body fluids or contaminated items, regardless of whether gloves are worn.
Answer: D
Q2) You are using an ophthalmoscope to examine a patient's inner eye. You rotate the lens selector clockwise and then counterclockwise to compensate for:
A) amblyopia.
B) astigmatism.
C) myopia.
D) strabismus.
Answer: C
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5
Chapter 4: Clinical Reasoning
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15 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is not a component of a management plan?
A) Presumptive diagnosis
B) Patient education
C) Diet modification
D) Physical therapy
Q2) When utilizing a joint approach with the patient, which factors are likely to be considered? (Select all that apply.)
A) Consultations
B) Laboratory studies
C) Assistive technology
D) Patient education
E) Practitioner background
Q3) A specific test is one that has the ability to:
A) correctly identify those who have the disease.
B) correctly identify those who do not have the disease.
C) be exclusively used to make a diagnosis.
D) exclude competing explanations for another test finding.
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6
Chapter 5: Documentation
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23 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) A detailed description of the symptoms related to the chief complaint is presented in the:
A) history of present illness.
B) differential diagnosis.
C) assessment.
D) general patient information section.
Q2) A SOAP note is used in which type of recording system?
A) Preventive care
B) Problem oriented
C) Systems review
D) Traditional treatment
Q3) Which of the following is not a component of the plan portion of the problem-oriented medical record?
A) Diagnostics ordered
B) Therapeutics
C) Patient education
D) Differential diagnosis
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Chapter 6: Vital Signs and Pain Assessment
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11 Verified Questions
11 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The Joint Commission (TJC) requires that:
A) pain be assessed on all discharges.
B) repeated assessment of pain be limited to those patients who complain of pain.
C) repeated intensity documentation be made of the course of pain relief for all patients.
D) pain be assessed on surgical patients.
Q2) During expiration, the internal intercostals:
A) increase the force of muscular contraction.
B) decrease the lateral diameter during expiration.
C) decrease the intrathoracic space.
D) increase elastic recoil during expiration.
Q3) The most frequent cause of serious hypertension in children is:
A) heart disease.
B) liver failure.
C) renal disease.
D) rheumatic fever.
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8
Chapter 7: Mental Status
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27 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) A 69-year-old truck driver presents with a sudden loss of the ability to understand spoken language. This indicates a lesion in the:
A) temporal lobe.
B) Broca area.
C) frontal cortex.
D) cerebellum.
Q2) Which are signs and symptoms of dementia?
A) Aphasia
B) Apathy
C) Odd behaviors
D) Disintegration of personality
E) Lack of awareness of others
Q3) While interviewing a patient, you ask him to explain the "Lion and the Mouse" to assess:
A) reading comprehension.
B) attention span.
C) mood and feeling.
D) reasoning skills.
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Chapter 8: Growth, Measurement, and Nutrition
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39 Verified Questions
39 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which situation poses the most concern?
A) The child whose weight and height ratios have remained at the 50th percentile
B) The child whose weight and height ratios have stayed between the 90th and 95th percentiles
C) The child whose weight and height ratios have never been above the 50th percentile
D) The child whose weight and height ratios have dropped 15 percentiles since the last visit
Q2) Which is the most vital nutrient?
A) Protein
B) Carbohydrate
C) Fat
D) Water
Q3) Ms. Otten is a 45-year-old patient who presents with a complaint of weight gain. Which medication is frequently associated with weight gain?
A) Diuretics
B) Oral hypoglycemics
C) Laxatives
D) Steroids
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10
Chapter 9: Skin, Hair, and Nails
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Sample Questions
Q1) The secretory activity of the sebaceous glands is stimulated by:
A) body heat.
B) ambient temperature.
C) sex hormones.
D) dietary protein.
Q2) During history taking, a mother states that her son awoke in the middle of the night complaining of intense itching to his legs. Today, your inspection reveals a honey-colored exudate from the vesicular rash on his legs. Which condition is consistent with these findings?
A) Exanthem
B) Impetigo
C) Solar keratoses
D) Trichotillomania
Q3) You are conducting a preschool examination on a 5-year-old child. Which injury would most likely raise your suspicion that the child is being abused?
A) Recent bruising over both knees
B) A healed laceration under the chin
C) A bruise on the right shin with associated abrasion of tissue
D) Bruises in various stages of resolution over body soft tissues
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Page 11
Chapter 10: Lymphatic System
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22 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which organ does not have lymphatic vessels?
A) Brain
B) Kidneys
C) Liver
D) Lungs
Q2) Serum sickness is usually characterized first by the appearance of:
A) lymph node enlargement.
B) joint pain.
C) urticaria.
D) fever.
Q3) As adults age, their ability to resist infection is reduced because of the lymphatic nodes becoming more:
A) fibrotic.
B) mucoid.
C) porous.
D) profuse.
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Page 12
Chapter 11: Head and Neck
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19 Verified Questions
19 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Nuchal rigidity is most commonly associated with:
A) thyroiditis.
B) meningeal irritation.
C) Down syndrome.
D) cranial nerve V damage.
Q2) Mr. Mathews is a 47-year-old patient who presents for a routine physical examination. On examination, you noted a bruit heard over the thyroid. This is suggestive of:
A) hypothyroidism.
B) hyperthyroidism.
C) thyroid cancer.
D) thyroid cyst.
Q3) When noting a bulging fontanel with marked pulsations in a 6-month-old, you suspect:
A) normal development.
B) congenital anomaly.
C) increased intracranial pressure.
D) fever response to a viral infection.
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Chapter 12: Eyes
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28 Verified Questions
28 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) To differentiate between infants who have strabismus and those who have pseudostrabismus, use the:
A) confrontation test.
B) corneal light reflex.
C) E chart.
D) Amsler grid.
Q2) Mr. Brown was admitted from the emergency department, and you are completing his physical examination. His pupils are 2 mm bilaterally, and you notice that they fail to dilate when the penlight is moved away. This is characteristic in patients who are or have been:
A) in a coma.
B) taking sympathomimetic drugs (cocaine).
C) taking opioid drugs (morphine).
D) treated for head trauma.
Q3) Cotton wool spots are most closely associated with:
A) glaucoma.
B) normal aging processes.
C) hypertension.
D) eye trauma.
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Page 14
Chapter 13: Ears, Nose, and Throat
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21 Verified Questions
21 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) To inspect the lateral borders of the tongue, you should:
A) ask the patient to extend the tongue outward.
B) insert the tongue blade obliquely against the tongue.
C) lift the tongue upward with gloved fingers.
D) pull the gauze-wrapped tongue to each side.
Q2) Speech with a monotonous tone and erratic volume may indicate:
A) otitis externa.
B) hearing loss.
C) serous otitis media.
D) sinusitis.
Q3) Nasal symptoms that imply an allergic response include:
A) purulent nasal drainage.
B) bluish gray turbinates.
C) small, atrophied nasal membranes.
D) firm consistency of turbinates.
Q4) A hairy tongue with yellowish brown to black elongated papillae on the dorsum:
A) is indicative of oral cancer.
B) is sometimes seen following antibiotic therapy.
C) usually indicates vitamin deficiency.
D) usually indicates anemia.
Page 15
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Chapter 14: Chest and Lungs
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15 Verified Questions
15 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) An Apgar score of __________ is given to the infant who demonstrates irregular respiratory effort.
Q2) In which patient situation would you expect to assess tachypnea?
A) Patient who is depressed
B) Patient who abuses narcotics
C) Patient with metabolic acidosis
D) Patient with myasthenia gravis
Q3) To count the ribs and the intercostal spaces, you begin by palpating the reference point of the:
A) distal point of the xiphoid.
B) manubriosternal junction.
C) suprasternal notch.
D) acromion process.
Q4) Ms. Rudman, age 74 years, has no known health problems or diseases. You are doing a preventive healthcare history and examination. Which symptom is associated with intrathoracic infection?
A) Barrel chest
B) Cor pulmonale
C) Funnel chest
D) Malodorous breath
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Chapter 15: Heart
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17 Verified Questions
17 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Chest pain with an organic cause in a child is most likely the result of:
A) cardiac disease.
B) asthma.
C) esophageal reflux.
D) arthritis.
Q2) A patient you are seeing in the emergency department for chest pain is believed to be having a myocardial infarction. During the health history interview of his family history, he relates that his father had died of "heart trouble." The most important follow-up question you should pose is which of the following?
A) "Did your father have coronary bypass surgery?"
B) "Did your father's father have heart trouble also?"
C) "What were your father's usual dietary habits?"
D) "What age was your father at the time of his death?"
Q3) Which one of the following is a common symptom of cardiovascular disorders in the older adult?
A) Fatigue
B) Joint pain
C) Poor night vision
D) Weight gain
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Page 17
Chapter 16: Blood Vessels
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19 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which are risk factors for varicose veins? (Select all that apply.)
A) Gender
B) Alcohol use
C) Lower extremity trauma
D) Increased body mass
E) Hypertension
F) Diabetes
Q2) Vascular changes expected in the older adult include:
A) loss of vessel elasticity.
B) decreased peripheral resistance.
C) decreased pulse pressure.
D) constriction of the aorta and major bronchi.
Q3) A venous hum heard over the internal jugular vein of a child:
A) usually signifies untreatable illness.
B) usually has no pathologic significance.
C) usually requires surgical intervention.
D) must be monitored until the child is grown.
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Chapter 17: Breasts and Axillae
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Sample Questions
Q1) A nursing mother complains that her breasts are tender. You assess hard, shiny, and erythemic breasts bilaterally. You should advise the patient to:
A) massage gently and continue nursing.
B) apply warm compresses and stop nursing.
C) monitor her temperature and restrict fluids.
D) sleep wearing a bra and wash her breasts with antibacterial soap.
Q2) Your patient is a nursing mother who asks you to look at a mole she has under her left breast at the inframammary fold. The mole is nontender and soft and has grown in size since she started nursing. There are no other changes to the mole. This mole probably represents an undiagnosed:
A) Montgomery tubercle.
B) case of Paget disease.
C) supernumerary nipple.
D) fat necrosis.
Q3) In patients with breast cancer, peau d'orange skin is often first evident:
A) in the axilla.
B) in the upper inner quadrant.
C) on or around the nipple.
D) at the inframammary ridge.
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Page 19
Chapter 18: Abdomen
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Sample Questions
Q1) Mrs. Little is a 44-year-old patient who presents to the office with abdominal pain and fever. During your examination, you ask the patient to raise her head and shoulders while she lies in a supine position. A midline abdominal ridge rises. You document this observation as a(n):
A) small inguinal hernia.
B) large epigastric hernia.
C) abdominal lipoma.
D) diastasis recti.
Q2) To document absent bowel sounds correctly, one must listen continuously for:
A) 30 seconds.
B) 1 minute.
C) 3 minutes.
D) 5 minutes.
Q3) Flatulence, diarrhea, dysuria, and tenderness with abdominal palpation are findings usually associated with:
A) diverticulitis.
B) pancreatitis.
C) ruptured ovarian cyst.
D) splenic rupture.
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Page 20
Chapter 19: Female Genitalia
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29 Verified Questions
29 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which risk factor is associated with cervical cancer?
A) Endometriosis
B) Low parity
C) Multiple sex partners
D) Obesity
Q2) Ms. A, age 32, states that she has a recent history of itchy vaginal discharge. Ms. A has never been pregnant. Her partner uses condoms and she uses spermicide for birth control. Which of the following data are most relevant to Ms. A's problem?
A) Bowel habits
B) Douching routines
C) Menstrual flow
D) Nutritional factors
Q3) A 3-year-old girl is being seen because of a foul vaginal odor. To inspect the vaginal vault, you should first:
A) insert a pediatric vaginal speculum.
B) place the child prone and in the fetal position.
C) insert a cotton-tipped applicator and press down.
D) pull the labia forward and slightly to the side.
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Chapter 20: Male Genitalia
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Sample Questions
Q1) Parents of a 6-year-old boy should be asked if he has:
A) erections.
B) nocturnal emissions.
C) rapid detumescence.
D) scrotal swelling.
Q2) A cremasteric reflex should result in:
A) testicular and scrotal rise on the stroked side.
B) penile deviation to the left side.
C) bilateral elevation of the scrotum.
D) immediate erection of the penis.
Q3) Which genital virus infection is known to have a latent phase followed by the production of viral DNA capsids and particles?
A) Condyloma acuminatum
B) Molluscum contagiosum
C) Herpetic lesions
D) Lymphogranuloma venereum
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22
Chapter 21: Anus, Rectum, and Prostate
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Sample Questions
Q1) Mr. Dunn is a 62-year-old man who has presented for a routine annual examination. On examination of the prostate you note a hard, irregular, painless nodule and obliteration of the median sulcus. These are signs of:
A) benign prostatic hypertrophy.
B) cancer of the prostate.
C) long-standing prostatitis.
D) swelling as a result of aging.
Q2) Which is a risk factor for colorectal cancer?
A) High-fiber diet
B) Diet low in animal fats and proteins
C) Irish descent
D) Inherited BRAC2 mutation
Q3) In males, which surface of the prostate gland is accessible by digital examination?
A) Median lobe
B) Posterior
C) Superior
D) Anterior
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Chapter 22: Musculoskeletal System
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31 Verified Questions
31 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Inquiry about nocturnal muscle spasms would be most significant when taking the musculoskeletal history of:
A) adolescents.
B) infants.
C) older adults.
D) middle-age adults.
Q2) Spinal vertebrae are separated from each other by: A) bursae.
B) tendons.
C) disks.
D) ligaments.
Q3) The joint where the humerus, radius, and ulna articulate is the: A) wrist.
B) elbow.
C) shoulder.
D) clavicle.
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Chapter 23: Neurologic System
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which is a concern, rather than an expected finding, in older adults?
A) Reduced ability to differentiate colors
B) Bilateral pillrolling of the fingers
C) Absent plantar reflex
D) Reduction in upward gaze
Q2) You are initially evaluating the equilibrium of Ms. Q. You ask her to stand, with her feet together and arms at her sides. She loses her balance. Ms. Q has a positive:
A) Kernig sign.
B) Homan sign.
C) McMurray test.
D) Romberg sign.
Q3) When using a monofilament to assess sensory function, the nurse:
A) uses two simultaneous monofilaments on similar bilateral points and then compares results.
B) applies both a monofilament and a pin on similar bilateral points and then compares results.
C) applies pressure to the monofilament until the filament bends.
D) strokes the monofilament along the skin from proximal to distal areas.
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25
Chapter 24: Sports Participation Evaluation
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Sample Questions
Q1) A child has a poorly controlled seizure disorder. He has restricted sports participation but would be able to engage in:
A) archery.
B) swimming.
C) weight lifting.
D) badminton.
Q2) The goals of preparticipation sports evaluation include:
A) screening for steroid use or abuse.
B) determining the best fit for positions in each sport.
C) determining the risk of injury or death during sports participation.
D) securing a legal contract before recommending limiting participation.
Q3) You are auscultating heart tones as part of a sports physical examination. You hear a murmur at the right second intercostal space (aortic area). The murmur increases in intensity when this teenager goes from a sitting to standing position. The subsequent recommendation should be to:
A) consult a cardiologist as soon as possible.
B) have a stress test before completion of the form.
C) participate in low-static, high-dynamic sports.
D) limit contact sports and have an echocardiogram.
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Page 26
Chapter 25: Putting it All Together
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Sample Questions
Q1) An examiner might be able to help a patient who seems uncomfortable with close contact during an examination by:
A) acknowledging the discomfort.
B) backing away from the patient.
C) joking about the patient's discomfort.
D) moving briskly to completion.
Q2) An ophthalmoscopic eye examination involves:
A) lens inspection.
B) near vision evaluation.
C) sclera observation.
D) visual field assessment.
Q3) At your first meeting with a patient, it is usually best to say:
A) "Let's get to the point."
B) "I hope you will learn to trust me."
C) "Let me tell you what I can do for you."
D) "Tell me about yourself."
Q4) Mrs. Jones is a 44-year-old patient who presents for a routine physical examination. The patient is unable to shrug her shoulders against the examiner's hands during the examination. The cranial nerve involved with successful shoulder shrugging is CN ____.
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Chapter 26: Emergency or Life-Threatening Situations
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Sample Questions
Q1) The approximate expected systolic blood pressure for a child older than 1 year is:
A) 120 + child's age in years.
B) 80 + child's age in years.
C) 120 ?- child's age in years.
D) 80 + (the child's age in years).
Q2) Which condition manifests as unexplained shortness of breath (SOB) and cough with hemoptysis?
A) Bleeding ulcer
B) Myocardial infarction
C) Pulmonary embolism
D) Transient ischemia
Q3) During injury assessment, one of the most crucial historical components is:
A) number of siblings.
B) history of prior fractures.
C) mechanism of injury.
D) past and current occupational exposure.
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