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NCLEX SATA practice questions (select all that apply)
On the NCLEX, select-all-that-apply items can have one or more correct answers (not always two or more), and they use plus/minus scoring: a point for each correct choice, minus one for each incorrect choice, never below zero. Treat every option as its own true-or-false question.
Question 1 · Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies
A nurse is teaching a client about starting amlodipine for hypertension. Which adverse effects should the nurse include in the teaching? Select all that apply.
Select all that apply.
Show answer and rationale
Answer: C, E. Calcium channel blockers (-dipine) work by vasodilation, which commonly causes peripheral or ankle edema and facial flushing; these are classic adverse effects clients should be taught to expect and report if severe. A dry, persistent cough is characteristic of ACE inhibitors, not calcium channel blockers, due to bradykinin buildup. Elevated potassium is a concern with ACE inhibitors and ARBs, not calcium channel blockers. Bradycardia is more associated with beta blockers, and tendon rupture is a known risk of fluoroquinolone antibiotics, not calcium channel blockers.
Checked against: OpenStax Pharmacology for Nurses, 18.5
Question 2 · Safety and Infection Control
The nurse is preparing to administer a scheduled medication. Which of the following are included in the 'Six Rights' of medication administration? Select all that apply.
Select all that apply.
Show answer and rationale
Answer: B, C, E, F. The Six Rights of medication administration are right patient, right drug, right dose, right route, right time, and right documentation. Right patient, right drug, right dose, and right time are all part of this list and are correctly selected. Right room number is incorrect because a room number alone should never be used to identify a patient, as patients may be moved or share a room. Right family member is not one of the Six Rights and is not a recognized safety check in medication administration.
Checked against: OpenStax Pharmacology for Nurses, 2.1
Question 3 · Safety and Infection Control
A nurse is preparing to administer IV potassium chloride to a client. Which actions are correct? Select all that apply.
Select all that apply.
Show answer and rationale
Answer: B, C, D, E. IV potassium is never given as an IV push or bolus because this can cause fatal cardiac arrhythmias; it must be diluted appropriately, infused through a pump, and given no faster than about 10 mEq/hr through a peripheral line, with the client on continuous cardiac monitoring due to the risk of dysrhythmias. A rapid push or bolus, even for a critically low level, is unsafe and is never an acceptable route for correcting hypokalemia. Central line administration may allow slightly higher rates under close monitoring, but the peripheral maximum and safety precautions listed remain standard practice.
Checked against: OpenStax Clinical Nursing Skills, 19.3
Question 4 · Safety and Infection Control
The nurse is teaching a parent of a toddler about choking hazards in the home. Which items should the nurse instruct the parent to keep away from the child? Select all that apply.
Select all that apply.
Show answer and rationale
Answer: A, D, E. Button batteries, marbles, and balloons are all well-recognized choking and aspiration hazards for children under 3 years and should be kept out of reach, as any object small enough to fit through a toilet paper roll tube or that can obstruct the airway poses a serious risk. A large soft ball that is too big for the child to put fully in the mouth is not a choking hazard by this criterion. Board books with thick cardboard pages are considered developmentally appropriate and safe for toddlers, as they are too large and sturdy to pose a swallowing risk.
Checked against: OpenStax Maternal-Newborn Nursing, 24.3; OpenStax Fundamentals of Nursing, 9.1
Question 5 · Physiological Adaptation
A nurse is assessing a client with type 1 diabetes for diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). Which findings should the nurse expect? Select all that apply.
Select all that apply.
Show answer and rationale
Answer: A, B, C, D. DKA presents with Kussmaul respirations (deep, rapid breathing to blow off CO2), a fruity acetone breath odor from ketone production, blood glucose typically above 250 mg/dL, and polyuria with extreme thirst from osmotic diuresis. Bradycardia is not a typical DKA finding; tachycardia is more common due to dehydration and compensatory response.
Checked against: OpenStax Medical-Surgical Nursing, 21.2
Question 6 · Reduction of Risk Potential
A nurse is caring for a client recovering from a stroke who has new-onset difficulty swallowing. Before initiating an oral diet, the nurse should assess which cranial nerves? Select all that apply.
Select all that apply.
Show answer and rationale
Answer: C, D, E. Safe swallowing depends primarily on CN IX (glossopharyngeal), which controls the gag reflex and posterior tongue sensation/taste, CN X (vagus), which controls swallowing, gag, and phonation, and CN XII (hypoglossal), which controls tongue movement needed to manipulate the food bolus. CN V governs facial sensation and chewing but not the swallow/gag mechanism itself. CN VII controls facial expression and lip closure, and CN XI controls shoulder/neck movement, neither of which is a primary nerve tested for swallowing safety before an oral diet.
Checked against: OpenStax Clinical Nursing Skills, 26.2; OpenStax Clinical Nursing Skills, 26.1
Question 7 · Safety and Infection Control
A client has an ANC of 600/mm3. Which precautions should the nurse implement? Select all that apply.
Select all that apply.
Show answer and rationale
Answer: B, D, E. With an ANC under 1,000/mm3, the nurse must reverse the isolation approach to protect the immunocompromised client: a private room, strict hand hygiene, and visitor screening are all appropriate. Fresh flowers are kept out of the room because they can carry bacteria and fungal spores that pose serious infection risk to a neutropenic client, and raw fruits and vegetables are avoided because their surfaces can carry organisms, so a high-raw diet is the opposite of what the client needs. The goal is protecting the client from the environment, not the other way around.
Checked against: OpenStax Medical-Surgical Nursing, 16.5
Question 8 · Physiological Adaptation
A nurse assesses a client with suspected right-sided heart failure. Which findings should the nurse expect to identify? Select all that apply.
Select all that apply.
Show answer and rationale
Answer: A, C, E. Right-sided heart failure commonly causes fluid overload, which presents as JVD, dyspnea on exertion as the heart's pumping ability declines, and peripheral edema from venous congestion. BUN typically rises, not falls, with fluid imbalance or poor perfusion, making a below-normal BUN inconsistent with this diagnosis. A normal SpO2 with no complaints does not reflect the respiratory compromise expected in heart failure. An elevated MAP is not a hallmark of heart failure and is not specifically associated with this condition.
Checked against: OpenStax Clinical Nursing Skills, 24.3; OpenStax Clinical Nursing Skills, 18.2
Question 9 · Physiological Adaptation
The nurse is comparing syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone (SIADH) and diabetes insipidus (DI). Which findings are associated with SIADH? Select all that apply.
Select all that apply.
Show answer and rationale
Answer: C, D, E, F. In SIADH, excess ADH causes the body to retain water, leading to dilutional hyponatremia, scant concentrated urine, seizure risk from severe low sodium, and treatment with fluid restriction. Large volumes of dilute urine describe diabetes insipidus, where ADH is deficient or ineffective and water is lost rather than retained. Elevated serum sodium also occurs in DI due to water loss concentrating the blood, not in SIADH where sodium is diluted and low.
Checked against: OpenStax Medical-Surgical Nursing, 21.4
Question 10 · Physiological Adaptation
A nurse auscultates the lungs of a patient with heart failure. Which findings should the nurse expect to hear that are consistent with this condition? Select all that apply.
Select all that apply.
Show answer and rationale
Answer: B, C, D. Crackles (rales) are discontinuous popping sounds heard on inspiration caused by fluid in the alveoli, and they are a classic finding in heart failure and pneumonia, often heard bilaterally at the bases due to gravity-dependent fluid accumulation. Wheezes are high-pitched musical sounds caused by narrowed airways, typically seen in asthma, COPD, or bronchospasm, not primarily heart failure. Bronchial sounds heard over the peripheral lung fields are abnormal and suggest consolidation, such as in pneumonia, rather than being a hallmark of heart failure.
Checked against: OpenStax Clinical Nursing Skills, 23.3
Question 11 · Reduction of Risk Potential
The nurse is assessing fetal heart rate tracings on several laboring clients. Which fetal heart rate baselines fall within the normal range? Select all that apply.
Select all that apply.
Show answer and rationale
Answer: A, B, D, F. The normal fetal heart rate baseline range is 110 to 160 bpm, so 115 bpm, 140 bpm, 158 bpm, and 110 bpm all fall within this expected range. A baseline of 100 bpm is below normal and would be classified as fetal bradycardia, requiring further assessment. A baseline of 165 bpm exceeds the normal range and would be classified as fetal tachycardia, which can indicate maternal fever, fetal hypoxia, or other concerns requiring evaluation.
Checked against: OpenStax Maternal-Newborn Nursing, 16.1
Question 12 · Physiological Adaptation
A nurse assesses a client with suspected thyroid storm. Which findings support this diagnosis? Select all that apply.
Select all that apply.
Show answer and rationale
Answer: A, B, C. Thyroid storm is a hypermetabolic crisis marked by high fever (often above 104°F), extreme tachycardia, and agitation or delirium progressing to altered mental status. Bradycardia, hypotension, and hypothermia are findings of myxedema coma (the opposite hypothyroid emergency), not thyroid storm.
Checked against: OpenStax Medical-Surgical Nursing, 21.3
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Frequently asked questions
How are SATA questions scored on the NCLEX?
Select-all-that-apply items use plus/minus scoring under NCSBN partial-credit rules: you earn a point for each correct option you choose and lose a point for each incorrect option you choose. The lowest possible item score is zero.
Does SATA always have at least two correct answers?
No. NCSBN says one or more of the options will be correct.
About these questions
Every question on this page was approved by a licensed RN, and its answer was checked against open nursing references (mostly OpenStax nursing textbooks) before publishing. They are NCLEX-style practice, not real NCLEX items. NurseLingo is not affiliated with NCSBN. Spot a problem? Tell us.