NCLEX-RN, Medical exams, 6–12%

Health Promotion and Maintenance

Care across the lifespan: growth and development, pregnancy and the newborn, screening and immunizations, health teaching, and helping clients prevent disease and reach their best health.

Position: 3 of 8 client needs categories
Published weighting: 6–12% in the official framework
Topics covered: 5 topics in this guide

What is covered

Topics inside this client needs category.

These topics describe the scope students most often review for this part of NCLEX-RN. Treat them as a study checklist rather than an exhaustive list of what a single exam form can sample.

Growth and development: Developmental milestones and the stages of aging that shape assessment and teaching.
Antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum care: Prenatal care, stages of labor, fetal heart rate patterns, and postpartum assessment.
Newborn care: Apgar scoring, thermoregulation, feeding, and newborn screening.
Health screening and immunizations: Recommended screenings and vaccine schedules by age and risk.
Health teaching and lifestyle change: Readiness to learn, teach-back, and teaching that fits the client's literacy and culture.

Study tips

How to practice Health Promotion.

Section-specific guidance that follows from how this material is usually tested.

Learn milestones by age band and pair each with a safety teaching point.
Rehearse fetal heart rate decelerations by cause and first nursing action.
Check teaching questions for the statement that shows the client misunderstood.

Where this fits

Health Promotion and Maintenance is 3 of 8 client needs categories in the NCLEX-RN guide, and it carries a published weighting of 6–12% in the official framework. Use the full guide to balance it against everything else you have to review.

Back to the NCLEX-RN guide Official exam information

Sample Health Promotion questions

Practice questions, not yet expert-reviewed

Original practice questions written to the published framework for this section. No expert has reviewed them, and they are not taken from any official exam. Try each one before you open the answer.

Question 1Foundational
At about what age should an infant first be able to sit without support?
1. A2 to 3 months
2. B10 to 12 months
3. C12 to 15 months
4. D6 to 8 months
Show answer
Answer: D. 6 to 8 months
Most infants sit with support by about 6 months and without support by about 8 months. Walking alone usually begins around 12 months.
Key insight: Sitting alone comes around 6 to 8 months, walking around 12 months.
Question 2Intermediate
What is the nurse's first action when a fetal heart rate tracing shows late decelerations during labor?
1. AIncrease the oxytocin infusion
2. BDocument the finding and keep monitoring
3. CTurn the client onto her side
4. DAsk the client to push with the next contraction
Show answer
Answer: C. Turn the client onto her side
Late decelerations mean uteroplacental insufficiency. The nurse turns the client to her side, stops any oxytocin, gives fluids and oxygen as ordered, and notifies the provider.
Key insight: Late decelerations: reposition, stop oxytocin, and notify the provider.
Question 3Foundational
Which newborn finding gives the lowest score in its category on the Apgar scale?
1. AA pink body with bluish hands and feet
2. BA heart rate of zero
3. CA strong cry
4. DSome flexion of the extremities
Show answer
Answer: B. A heart rate of zero
Each Apgar category is scored 0 to 2. An absent heart rate scores 0. Some flexion and bluish extremities with a pink body score 1, and a strong cry scores 2.
Key insight: Apgar scores heart rate, breathing, tone, reflexes, and color from 0 to 2 each.
Question 4Intermediate
Which statement shows that a client needs more teaching about breast self-awareness?
1. A"I only need to pay attention to my breasts after menopause."
2. B"I should report a new lump or dimpling to my provider."
3. C"I should know how my breasts normally look and feel."
4. D"Nipple discharge is a change I should report."
Show answer
Answer: A. "I only need to pay attention to my breasts after menopause."
Breast self-awareness applies at every adult age. Knowing what is normal and reporting new lumps, dimpling, or nipple discharge are correct.
Key insight: Look for the statement that is wrong when a question asks who needs more teaching.
Question 5Advanced
True or false: the nurse should use teach-back by asking the client to explain the instructions in their own words.
1. ATrue
2. BFalse
Show answer
Answer: A. True
Teach-back checks understanding by having the client restate or demonstrate the information. Asking "Do you understand?" is not enough, because clients often say yes without understanding.
Key insight: Have the client explain it back instead of asking whether they understand.

Continue through NCLEX-RN

Practice Health Promotion deliberately.

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Health Promotion and Maintenance