CGFNS Practice Questions (2026) — Free Sample Questions with Answers

Answer: C

Explain the surgical procedure in detail so that the patient understands: Explaining the procedure, its risks and its alternatives is the surgeon's responsibility. The nurse can reinforce information but should not replace the surgeon's disclosure.

Witness the signature, since the patient has already signed the form: A signature without understanding is not informed consent. Proceeding would fail to protect the patient's rights.

Notify the surgeon that the patient needs clarification before surgery: Correct. As the patient's advocate, the nurse ensures consent is informed. The surgeon must clarify the procedure before it goes ahead, and the nurse documents the concern.

Reassure the patient that the surgeon will explain it in the theatre: Consent must be informed before the patient is sedated or in the operating room. Delaying the explanation undermines voluntary, informed consent.

Informed consent belongs to the person doing the procedure. The nurse's role is to advocate: if a patient does not understand, stop and notify the surgeon before proceeding.

Answer: B

Autonomy: honoring each patient's own treatment choices: Autonomy concerns self-determination. Triage criteria applied across patients are about how scarce resources are divided, not individual choice.

Justice: fair allocation of scarce resources by set criteria: Correct. Distributive justice requires allocating scarce resources fairly using consistent, relevant criteria. Social status and ability to pay are not relevant criteria.

Fidelity: keeping the promises made to individual patients: Fidelity is faithfulness to commitments to particular patients. It does not address how to choose among many patients.

Nonmaleficence: avoiding any treatment that might cause harm: Nonmaleficence means avoiding harm. It does not provide a framework for deciding who receives a limited resource.

Allocating scarce resources is a question of justice: apply transparent, consistent, clinically relevant criteria equally to everyone.

Answer: B

To make sure every patient in the hospital is included in the study: Including everyone describes a census. Random assignment concerns how enrolled participants are divided between groups.

To balance known and unknown characteristics between the groups: Correct. Randomization spreads confounding factors, both measured and unmeasured, evenly across groups, so differences in outcomes can be attributed to the intervention.

To keep the participants from knowing which group they are in: Keeping group assignment hidden is blinding (masking), a different design feature.

To guarantee the results apply to all hospitals in every country: Applicability to other settings (external validity) depends on the sample and setting, not on random assignment.

Random assignment controls confounding and protects internal validity. Blinding reduces bias in measurement. Random sampling supports generalizability.

Answer: D

Increase the magnesium infusion to prevent eclamptic seizures: These are signs of magnesium toxicity. Increasing the dose could cause respiratory arrest.

Document the findings and reassess the patient in one hour: Respiratory depression and absent reflexes need immediate action, not delayed reassessment.

Give oral fluids to raise urine output and continue the infusion: Low urine output reduces magnesium clearance and worsens toxicity. The infusion must not continue.

Stop the infusion, notify the provider and prepare calcium gluconate: Correct. A respiratory rate under 12, absent reflexes and oliguria indicate magnesium toxicity. Stop the infusion, call for help, support breathing and have calcium gluconate (the antidote) ready.

With magnesium sulfate, monitor respiratory rate (12 or more), deep tendon reflexes, urine output (30 mL/h or more) and serum levels. If toxicity appears, stop the infusion and give calcium gluconate.

Answer: C

14.4 mL/h: This uses a concentration of 100 units/mL. The bag actually contains 25,000 ÷ 500 = 50 units/mL.

18.0 mL/h: This treats the units/kg dose as a rate in mL/h without calculating the total dose or the concentration.

28.8 mL/h: Correct. Dose = 18 × 80 = 1,440 units/h. Concentration = 25,000 ÷ 500 = 50 units/mL. Rate = 1,440 ÷ 50 = 28.8 mL/h.

57.6 mL/h: This uses 25 units/mL, half the true concentration, which would double the dose.

Weight-based infusion: total dose per hour = dose × kg. Rate (mL/h) = dose per hour ÷ concentration (units/mL). High-alert drugs like heparin need an independent double-check.

Answer: B

Green: minor: Green (walking wounded) applies to people who can walk. This patient cannot.

Red: immediate: Correct. In START, a non-ambulatory patient breathing more than 30 times per minute is tagged red (immediate), without further assessment.

Yellow: delayed: Yellow requires breathing at 30/min or less, a radial pulse or capillary refill under 2 seconds, and the ability to follow commands. The respiratory rate here exceeds 30.

Black: expectant: Black is for people who are not breathing even after the airway is repositioned. This patient is breathing.

START triage: walking means green. Not breathing after airway repositioning means black. Respirations over 30, poor perfusion or inability to follow commands means red. Otherwise yellow.