HESI A2 — All Questions

Which word best completes the sentence? 'Oxygen is ___ to life; without it cells die within minutes.'

• a.optional
• b.incidental
• c.vital✓
• d.excessive

Vital means necessary for life, which matches a substance cells cannot survive without. Optional and incidental both suggest it could be dispensed with, and excessive would mean there is too much of it.

Patients who adhere to the treatment plan recover faster. To adhere to a plan is to:

• a.question it openly
• b.design it yourself
• c.abandon it early
• d.follow it closely✓

Adhering means sticking to something, whether a surface or a set of instructions. Questioning, designing and abandoning a plan all describe something other than following it.

The surgeon closed the wound with sutures. A suture is:

• a.a stitch✓
• b.a dressing
• c.a drain
• d.a clamp

Sutures are the stitches that hold the edges of a wound together while it heals. A dressing covers a wound from outside, a drain carries fluid away from it, and a clamp temporarily compresses tissue during surgery.

The instructor asked for the rationale behind the decision. A rationale is:

• a.the reasoning behind it✓
• b.the outcome that followed
• c.the person who made it
• d.the time it was made

A rationale explains why a course of action was chosen. The outcome is what resulted, and neither the decision maker nor the timing explains the thinking involved.

The supply of gloves was adequate for the week. Adequate means:

• a.excessive
• b.scarce
• c.expensive
• d.enough✓

Adequate means sufficient for the purpose, no more and no less. Excessive means more than needed, scarce means too little, and cost is a different matter from quantity.

The clinic performed a comprehensive examination. Comprehensive means:

• a.completed very quickly
• b.limited to one complaint
• c.covering all aspects✓
• d.repeated every year

A comprehensive examination is thorough and leaves nothing out. Speed is unrelated to scope, an examination limited to one complaint is a focused assessment, and how often it is repeated says nothing about how complete it is.

Which word best completes the sentence? 'A ___ student reviews her notes every evening rather than the night before the exam.'

• a.reluctant
• b.erratic
• c.indifferent
• d.diligent✓

Diligent describes steady, conscientious effort, which is what nightly review shows. Reluctant means unwilling, erratic means irregular, and indifferent means not caring about the result.

There was a discrepancy between the two counts of the narcotics. A discrepancy is:

• a.a delay in completing a task
• b.an agreement between two records
• c.a rule that staff must follow
• d.a difference that should not be there✓

A discrepancy is an inconsistency between things that ought to match, which is exactly why a narcotic count is done twice. An agreement is the opposite finding, and neither a delay nor a rule involves two figures failing to match.

The committee decided the plan was not feasible. Feasible means:

• a.likely to be popular
• b.able to be done✓
• c.already completed
• d.legally required

Feasible describes something practical to carry out with the resources available. Popularity, completion and legal obligation are separate questions from whether a thing can be done at all.

Heavy traffic hindered the ambulance. To hinder means to:

• a.slow or obstruct✓
• b.guide safely
• c.speed along
• d.follow closely

To hinder is to get in the way and make progress harder. Guiding and speeding along would help rather than obstruct, and following closely describes position rather than interference.

It is imperative that the patient take the full course of antibiotics. Imperative means:

• a.strongly discouraged
• b.absolutely necessary✓
• c.merely suggested
• d.occasionally helpful

An imperative instruction leaves no room for choice. Something discouraged is being argued against, a suggestion may be declined, and occasional help falls far short of necessity.

The technician kept meticulous records. Meticulous means:

• a.written by hand each day
• b.stored in a locked cabinet
• c.extremely careful about detail✓
• d.shared with the whole team

Meticulous describes painstaking attention to small details. How the records were written, where they were kept and who saw them are all separate facts that the word does not convey.

The equipment was obsolete and had to be replaced. Obsolete means:

• a.too expensive
• b.recently purchased
• c.out of date✓
• d.in constant use

Obsolete equipment has been superseded and is no longer the current standard, whether or not it still works. Cost, recent purchase and heavy use are all unrelated to whether something has been outdated.

Her explanation was plausible, though no one could confirm it. Plausible means:

• a.believable✓
• b.proven true
• c.clearly false
• d.deliberately vague

A plausible account sounds reasonable on its face without being verified, which is why the sentence adds that no one could confirm it. Proven and false are both verdicts the sentence explicitly withholds, and vagueness describes the form rather than the credibility.

It would be prudent to check the dose a second time. Prudent means:

• a.sensible and cautious✓
• b.quick and efficient
• c.bold and decisive
• d.required by law

A prudent action shows careful judgement and avoids unnecessary risk. Speed and boldness may be virtues elsewhere but are not what the word means, and prudence is a matter of judgement rather than legal obligation.

He was reluctant to ask for pain medication. Reluctant means:

• a.eager
• b.unwilling✓
• c.unable
• d.forgetful

Reluctance is hesitation about doing something one could do. Eagerness is the opposite feeling, inability is a matter of capacity rather than willingness, and forgetting is not a choice at all.

The change in the patient's colour was subtle. Subtle means:

• a.sudden and alarming
• b.widespread over the body
• c.slight and easily missed✓
• d.painful to the touch

A subtle change is faint enough that only a careful observer notices it. Sudden, widespread and painful all describe changes that would be obvious rather than easily overlooked.

Which word best completes the sentence? 'Staff remained ___ throughout the night, checking the monitor every few minutes.'

• a.idle
• b.reckless
• c.vigilant✓
• d.detached

Vigilant means alert and watchful, which frequent checking demonstrates. Idle means doing nothing, reckless means careless of risk, and detached means emotionally uninvolved.

The instructions were ambiguous, so two nurses read them differently. Ambiguous means:

• a.open to more than one meaning✓
• b.written in very small print
• c.much too long to read
• d.printed in another language

Ambiguous wording can be understood in more than one way, which is why the two readings differed. Small print, excessive length and a foreign language all make text hard to read without making its meaning double.

The instructor asked for a concise summary. Concise means:

• a.handwritten and signed
• b.detailed and thorough
• c.brief and to the point✓
• d.spoken rather than written

A concise summary says what is needed in few words. Detail and thoroughness pull in the opposite direction, and how the summary is produced or delivered is not part of the meaning.

The patient's condition began to deteriorate overnight. To deteriorate is to:

• a.improve steadily
• b.remain unchanged
• c.become more stable
• d.grow worse✓

Deterioration is decline, which is why it prompts a call to the physician. Improvement and increasing stability describe the opposite direction, and remaining unchanged would be no deterioration at all.

He reported sporadic chest pain over several months. Sporadic means:

• a.happening constantly
• b.growing worse each day
• c.happening now and then✓
• d.lasting several hours

Sporadic events occur at irregular, scattered intervals rather than continuously. Constant pain, steadily worsening pain and pain of a particular duration are each described with different words.