Palliative Nursing Quiz: Comfort Care Skills

1. Which medication class is first-line for moderate cancer pain in palliative care?

Opioids

NSAIDs

Acetaminophen

Corticosteroids

2. What is the primary goal of palliative care?

Cure all diseases

Relieve suffering and improve quality of life

Extend life at all costs

Replace curative treatment

3. Which assessment tool is most appropriate for evaluating dyspnea in palliative patients?

Numeric Pain Rating Scale

Modified Borg Dyspnea Scale

Glasgow Coma Scale

Katz Index of Independence

4. Constipation is a common side effect of opioid therapy. Which intervention is most evidence-based?

Increase fluid intake only

Prescribe a bowel regimen with stool softener and stimulant

Reduce opioid dose

Wait for spontaneous resolution

5. True or False: Palliative care can only be provided in hospice settings.

True

False

6. Which of the following is a key component of advance care planning?

Discussing code status and treatment preferences

Determining funeral arrangements

Assigning power of attorney

Creating a will

7. A patient reports nausea unrelated to pain. What is the first nursing intervention?

Administer antiemetic medication

Assess frequency, timing, and associated symptoms

Restrict oral intake

Insert nasogastric tube

8. What is the primary purpose of the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS)?

Measure functional ability

Evaluate multiple symptoms simultaneously

Assess cognitive status

Determine prognosis

9. True or False: Opioid doses should never be increased in palliative care due to addiction risk.

True

False

10. Which communication technique is most effective when discussing prognosis with palliative patients?

Provide optimistic statistics only

Use the NURSE acronym (Naming, Understanding, Respecting, Supporting, Exploring)

Avoid discussing death

Give definitive timelines

11. What is the most common cause of delirium in terminally ill patients?

Anxiety

Reversible medical conditions (infection, medication, hypoxia)

Psychological distress

Sleep deprivation

Submit

13. True or False: Family presence during end-of-life care is associated with better grief outcomes.

True

False

14. Which nonpharmacologic intervention is evidence-based for managing anxiety in palliative patients?

Massage and aromatherapy

Music therapy and relaxation techniques

Guided imagery

All of the above

Submit

Palliative Nursing Quiz: Test Your Comfort Care Skills

1. Which medication class is first-line for moderate cancer pain in palliative care?

2.

What first name or nickname would you like us to use?

2. What is the primary goal of palliative care?

3. Which assessment tool is most appropriate for evaluating dyspnea in palliative patients?

4. Constipation is a common side effect of opioid therapy. Which intervention is most evidence-based?

5. True or False: Palliative care can only be provided in hospice settings.

6. Which of the following is a key component of advance care planning?

7. A patient reports nausea unrelated to pain. What is the first nursing intervention?

8. What is the primary purpose of the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS)?

9. True or False: Opioid doses should never be increased in palliative care due to addiction risk.

10. Which communication technique is most effective when discussing prognosis with palliative patients?

11. What is the most common cause of delirium in terminally ill patients?

12. In palliative care, the principle of beneficence means____.

13. True or False: Family presence during end-of-life care is associated with better grief outcomes.

14. Which nonpharmacologic intervention is evidence-based for managing anxiety in palliative patients?

15. The World Health Organization defines palliative care as____.