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Research, evidence and nursing theory on the RCSI theory paper

Evidence-based practice, inductive and deductive reasoning, the metaparadigm, Nightingale to Benner, the Roper-Logan-Tierney model, hierarchy of evidence, RCTs and cohorts, GRADE.

28 multiple-choice questions, each with an explanation and the document it was checked against. Three questions are free; the pass opens the other 25 and every other topic. Wrong answers come back first the next time you practise, and a question counts as mastered after two correct answers in a row.

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Question 1
What does a GRADE rating of "low" certainty mean?
1. ALimited confidence: the true effect may be substantially different from the estimate
2. BThe studies behind the recommendation had fewer than 100 participants in total
3. CThe intervention has been shown to be harmful and should not be used in practice
4. DThe evidence comes from a single country and cannot be applied elsewhere
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Answer: A. GRADE handbook, Table 5.1: high means we are very confident the true effect lies close to the estimate; moderate, the true effect is likely to be close but could be substantially different; low, our confidence in the estimate is limited and the true effect may be substantially different; very low, we have very little confidence and the true effect is likely to be substantially different. The rating is made per outcome across the body of evidence, not per study.
Source: GRADE handbook (GRADE working group), 5. Quality of evidence: Table 5.1
Question 2
Which four adaptive modes does Roy’s Adaptation Model describe?
1. ABiological, psychological, sociocultural and environmental
2. BOrientation, identification, exploitation and resolution
3. CPerson, environment, health and nursing
4. DPhysiological, self-concept, role function and interdependence
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Answer: D. OpenStax 1.5: Roy’s model identifies four adaptive modes. The physiological mode covers the physical processes behind health, self-concept the person’s perception of themselves, role function the roles and responsibilities they hold, and interdependence their relationships with others. Orientation to resolution are Peplau’s phases; person, environment, health and nursing are the metaparadigm.
Source: OpenStax Fundamentals of Nursing, 1.5 Selected nursing theorist: Roy’s adaptation model
Question 3
Which British model of nursing, developed in the 1970s around activities of living, does its publisher call the most influential nursing model in the UK?
1. AWatson’s Theory of Human Caring
2. BThe Roper-Logan-Tierney model
3. CThe Roy Adaptation Model
4. DThe Neuman Systems Model
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Answer: B. RCN: in the 1970s Nancy Roper, Win Logan and Alison Tierney researched nursing practice in Britain to identify a British model; their first book, The Elements of Nursing (1980), was translated into thirteen languages and the final version, The Roper-Logan-Tierney Model of Nursing: Based on Activities of Living, appeared in 2000. Elsevier, its publisher, describes it as the most influential nursing model in the UK and one of the most influential in the world.
Source: RCN blog, Remembering Win Logan (May 2025); Elsevier, The Roper-Logan-Tierney Model of Nursing (2000)

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