Palliative Care Week 1 Exam

Welcome to your Palliative Care Week 1 Exam

August 20, 2025

Attempt All Questions

Time Allowed: 2 hours

1. What is the primary focus of palliative care?

a) End-of-life care

b) Increasing life expectancy

c) Improving quality of life for serious illness

d) Providing curative treatments

2. When is it usually considered appropriate to provide palliative care?

a) Only in the final stages of an illness

b) Only for elderly patients

c) At any age and at any stage of a serious illness

d) Only for cancer patients

3. What is the primary focus of hospice care?

a) Providing curative treatments

b) Bereavement support for families

c) Caring for patients with a six-month prognosis

d) Spiritual guidance for patients

4. Which principle in palliative care emphasizes the importance of maintaining hope with realistic goals?

a) Appropriate ethical consideration

b) Continuum of treatment

c) Teamwork and partnership

d) Holistic care approach

5. What does the holistic care approach in palliative care entail?

a) Focusing solely on physical symptoms

b) Providing spiritual care only

c) Treating patients as a whole, addressing physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs

d) Prioritizing emotional support

6. What is the primary advantage of facility-based palliative care?

a) Reduced travel time for patients

b) Greater community involvement

c) Immediate access to healthcare professionals and specialized equipment

d) Enhanced socialization

7. What does the home-based palliative care model involve?

a) Providing care in a hospital or hospice facility

b) Offering palliative care services in the patient's home

c) Conducting facility day care programs

d) Focusing on outpatient care

8. What is the primary purpose of monitoring the respiratory rate in patients receiving morphine?

a. To measure the patient's oxygen saturation

b. To detect opioid addiction

c. To identify urinary retention

d. To assess for severe respiratory depression

9. Why is standardized data collection and documentation important in palliative care?

a) To limit access to palliative care services

b) To assess the impact of palliative care programs

c) To reduce patient preferences

d) To increase medication availability

10. Which type of communication involves the exchange of ideas through spoken expression in words?

a) Verbal communication

b) Non-verbal communication

c) Closed-ended communication

d) Reflective communication

11. What does the "ROLES" acronym stand for in relation to body language indicating active listening?

a) Relaxed, Open, Lean, Empathetic, Summarized

b) Respected, Organized, Limited, Encouraging, Structured

c) Relaxed, Open, Lean, Eye contact, Sit near

d) Reflective, Optimistic, Linguistic, Energetic, Supportive

12. When asking questions in palliative care, what is the primary purpose of open-ended questions?

a) To gather specific facts and details

b) To structure the conversation

c) To encourage the patient to express feelings and opinions

d) To provide clear instructions to the patient

13. In pediatric palliative care, what is a key principle for answering difficult questions from children?

a) Avoid discussing difficult topics with children

b) Build trust and rapport before addressing sensitive topics

c) Provide complex medical explanations

d) Minimize the child's involvement in decision-making

14. What technique involves warning, pausing, checking, and chunking when addressing difficult questions with children?

a) Tactful questioning

b) WPC Chunk Technique

c) Closed-ended questioning

d) Non-verbal communication

15. What is the most common and feared symptom among those nearing the end of life?

a) Nausea and vomiting

b) Fatigue

c) Pain

d) Depression

16. In the pathophysiology of pain, nociceptors are specialized cells that act like bodyguards stationed throughout the body. What is their role?

a) Transmit pain signals to the brain

b) Block pain signals at the spinal cord

c) Detect potential harm and activate when necessary

d) Trigger emotional responses to pain

17. Which type of pain involves damage to the peripheral nerves and is often described as burning, shooting, or electrical-like sensations?

a) Somatic pain

b) Central pain

c) Neuropathic pain

d) Visceral pain

18. Which type of pain originates from the central nervous system and can result from conditions like stroke or spinal cord injury?

a) Neuropathic pain

b) Somatic pain

c) Visceral pain

d) Central pain

19. Which type of pain involves pain originating from organs and is often described as crampy, nagging, or dull?

a) Visceral pain

b) Somatic pain

c) Central pain

d) Peripheral pain

20. Which of the following is NOT one of the dimensions of total pain?

a) Physical

b) Psychological

c) Social

d) Medical

21. What does the FLACC Pain Scale assess primarily?

a) Self-reported pain intensity

b) Pain location on a body chart

c) Pain-related behaviors in non-communicative individuals

d) Pain duration and changes over time

22. What is the first step in the WHO Analgesic Ladder for pain management?

a. Strong opioids

b. Weak opioids

c. Non-opioids

d. Adjuvant medications

23. Which principle of effective pain management emphasizes administering analgesics at regular intervals and titrating the dose against pain?

a. By the mouth

b. By the clock

c. By the ladder

d. By the patient

24. Which adjuvant medication is commonly used for neuropathic pain in palliative care?

a. Tramadol

b. Gabapentin

c. Codeine

d. Ibuprofen

25. What is the maximum daily dose of paracetamol recommended for adults?

a. 1 gram

b. 2 grams

c. 3 grams

d. 4 grams

26. Which pharmacological agent is primarily used to manage bone pain in palliative care?

a. Gabapentin

b. Morphine

c. Bisphosphonates

d. Codeine

27. What should be done with expired or rejected class A drugs like morphine?

a. They should be sold to patients at a discount.

b. They should be disposed of following WHO guidelines.

c. They can be used for educational purposes.

d. They should be given to other healthcare providers.

28. What is breakthrough pain in the relation of pain management?

A) A pain intensity level below the patient's tolerance threshold.

B) A sudden, severe flare-up of pain that occurs despite ongoing pain management.

C) Pain that can be relieved with over-the-counter pain relievers.

D) Chronic pain that gradually worsens over time.

29. What is the purpose of a breakthrough dose in pain management?

A) To replace the patient's regular pain medication.

B) To serve as the primary pain relief method.

C) To provide extra pain relief during episodes of sudden, severe pain.

D) To reduce the need for any pain medication.

30. Free mark? Okay, but do you know Procedural pain?

Yes, Pain related to procedures

I think yes! Procedural is to procedure, huh!