0/1 scoring · 27 questions in 6 sets
NCLEX Drop-Down Table Practice Questions
Practice NCLEX drop-down table questions: choose from menus inside a clinical table, with a rationale per option. Sets 1 and 2 are free, with no sign-up.
The format
What is a Drop-Down Table question on the NCLEX?
Drop-down table items put the drop-down menus inside a table, for example choosing the right action for each medication or the expected finding for each body system.
Practice sets
27 Drop‑Down Table questions in 6 sets
Each set covers one clinical topic and opens in the NCLEX-style test interface. Submit each answer to see the correct answer and a rationale for every option. Your progress and score are saved in this browser.
Neuro
Maternity
Pediatrics
Mental Health
Sample question
Try a Drop-Down Table question
Open the sample to see the format on the exam screen, with the correct answer marked and the reason each option is right or wrong. To answer questions yourself, start a set above.
Sample question: answer and rationaleFor each finding or task below, click to specify the action the nurse should take.
The nurse in the emergency department is caring for a 2-year-old male client.
The nurse has reviewed the Nurses' Notes from 0915 and 1040.
For each finding or task below, click to specify the action the nurse should take.
| Finding or Task | Nursing Action |
|---|---|
| Charting the bruises | |
| Positive pertussis test | |
| Bruises with a changing history |
Correct answer and rationale
Drop-Down Table · 0/1 scoring
The deciding cues are bruises on the torso and ears of a child under 4 years, an account that changes, and the positive pertussis test. Nurses are mandated reporters of suspected child abuse. A report is required on reasonable suspicion, so the nurse reports to child protective services without waiting for proof or for the PHCP to agree. The record describes each injury objectively, by type, size and location, and leaves out conclusions about the cause. Pertussis is a nationally notifiable disease, and providers and hospitals must tell the health department, usually through the agency's process. The federal privacy rule (HIPAA) permits both reports without the family's authorization.
Takeaway: report suspected child abuse on suspicion, chart only what is seen, and report a notifiable disease without waiting for consent.
Why each option is right or wrong
- Charting the bruises: Key: chart the type, size and site of each bruise. The record holds objective findings, not conclusions.
- Chart the type, size and site of each bruise.: Correct. Injuries are charted objectively, by type, size and location.
- Chart that the bruises are the result of abuse.: Incorrect. "The result of abuse" is a conclusion. The nurse reports a suspicion and charts findings.
- Chart that the bruises are consistent with falls.: Incorrect. This is also a conclusion about the cause, and it rests on an account that has changed.
- Positive pertussis test: Key: use the agency process to tell the health department. Pertussis is a nationally notifiable disease.
- Hold any report until a parent has given consent.: Incorrect. The federal privacy rule (HIPAA) permits the report of a reportable disease to the health department without the family's authorization.
- Send the result to child protective services only.: Incorrect. Child protective services receives the report of suspected abuse. A reportable disease goes to the local or state health department.
- Use the agency process to tell the health department.: Correct. Providers and hospitals must tell the health department when a notifiable disease is diagnosed, usually through the agency's process.
- Bruises with a changing history: Key: report the suspicion to child protective services. Bruises on the torso and ears of a child under 4 years, with an account that changes, raise concern for abuse.
- Report only if the PHCP later confirms abuse.: Incorrect. Waiting for the PHCP to agree is a common error. The nurse is a mandated reporter, and reasonable suspicion is enough.
- Report the suspicion to child protective services.: Correct. A report is required on reasonable suspicion. Certainty is not needed.
- Report once the partner's account has been proven false.: Incorrect. Proof is not required. Investigating is the work of child protective services, and a report is not delayed to gather proof.
Sources
- StatPearls: Child Abuse and Neglect (Nursing)
- StatPearls: Child Abuse and Neglect
- StatPearls: Pediatric Abusive Head Trauma
- Validation of a Clinical Decision Rule to Predict Abuse in Young Children Based on Bruising Characteristics (JAMA Network Open, 2021)
- Child Welfare Information Gateway: What Is Child Abuse and Neglect? Recognizing the Signs and Symptoms
- Child Welfare Information Gateway: Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect
- Open RN Nursing Management and Professional Concepts, 5.2 Understanding the Legal System
- Open RN Nursing Management and Professional Concepts, 5.5 Protecting Your Nursing License
- CDC NNDSS: What is Case Surveillance?
- CDC: National notifiable conditions by year
- 45 CFR 164.512 Uses and disclosures for which authorization is not required
- CDC: Whooping Cough Symptoms
Scoring
How Drop-Down Table questions are scored
Each drop-down cell is scored 0/1 and the cell scores are added together.
Scoring rules: NCSBN, Next Generation NCLEX. Last reviewed October 13, 2026.
How to answer Drop-Down Table questions
- Treat each row as its own mini-question.
- Use the row label and the chart data together. The right choice for one row is often wrong for the next.
FAQ
Drop-Down Table questions: FAQ
Is a drop-down table scored like drop-down cloze?
What is a drop-down table question on the NCLEX?
How do you answer a drop-down table question?
Keep practicing
Other NCLEX question types
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Drag-and-Drop Cloze set 1 · Prioritization & Safety