Nursing Elites

1. An older woman has lived alone since the death of her husband 10 years ago, and she has a long list of vague complaints. Which assessment is the priority for the home health nurse to perform?

• A. Assess for feelings of loneliness and isolation.
• B. Determine if the client has unresolved grief.
• C. Determine if there are safety issues.
• D. Ask about the availability of support systems.

Correct answer: C

Rationale: The priority assessment for the home health nurse in this scenario is to determine if there are safety issues. The client is an older woman living alone with a long list of vague complaints, indicating several risk factors. Ensuring her safety should be the primary concern. While assessing for feelings of loneliness, isolation, or grief is important, ensuring the client's safety takes precedence due to her vulnerable situation. Although assessing the availability of support systems is essential in a home health assessment, safety issues must be addressed first given the client's profile.

2. The nurse evaluates the client's progress and determines that one of the nursing diagnoses on the client's care plan has been resolved. How should the nurse document this so that it is best communicated to the healthcare team?

• A. Use Liquid PaperTM to 'white out' the resolved diagnosis on the care plan
• B. Recopy the care plan without the resolved diagnosis
• C. Write a nursing progress note indicating that the outcome goals have been achieved
• D. Draw a single line through the diagnosis on the care plan and write the nurse's initials and date

Correct answer: D

Rationale: To discontinue a diagnosis once it has been resolved, cross it off with a single line or highlight it, then write initials and date. Some agency forms may require the nurse to put date and initials in a 'Date Resolved' column. Using Liquid PaperTM is not a legal way to amend client records as it can obscure the original documentation. Recopying the care plan without the resolved diagnosis can lead to confusion and inaccuracies in the client's record. Writing a nursing progress note indicating that the outcome goals have been achieved is important but should not be the sole method used to communicate the resolution of a nursing diagnosis. Drawing a single line through the resolved diagnosis on the care plan and documenting the nurse's initials and date is the most effective way to communicate the resolution of a nursing diagnosis to the healthcare team.

3. A 30-year-old woman is scheduled for a total abdominal hysterectomy due to noninvasive endometrial cancer. The nurse anticipates the client may have difficulty adjusting emotionally to this type of surgery. Which concern would be the cause of this anticipated difficulty?

• A. Change in femininity
• B. Body image changes
• C. Diminished sexual desire
• D. Slow recovery

Correct answer: A

Rationale: The correct answer is 'Change in femininity.' The removal of the uterus can lead to changes in how some women perceive themselves sexually as it is a reproductive organ. In this young client, there may be heightened feelings of loss of femininity and reproductive potential. Body image changes could occur but are more likely with surgeries involving obvious external changes. Diminished sexual desire is unlikely in a premenopausal woman unless she has specific concerns. Slow recovery is not expected in an otherwise healthy 30-year-old woman undergoing this surgery.

4. After attending group therapy, the client says, 'It helps to know that I'm not the only one with this type of problem.' Which concept does this statement reflect?

• A. Altruism
• B. Catharsis
• C. Universality
• D. Transference

Correct answer: C

Rationale: The client's statement reflects the concept of universality. Universality in group therapy signifies the understanding that one is not alone in their struggles, providing a sense of commonality and support among group members facing similar challenges. Altruism in group therapy involves offering support, insight, and encouragement to others, fostering personal growth and self-awareness. Catharsis pertains to group members sharing and expressing both negative and positive emotions with each other. Transference occurs when a client inadvertently projects feelings and perceptions onto the therapist that originally belonged to someone significant in their past, impacting the therapeutic relationship.

5. The parents tell the nurse that their preschooler often awakes from sleep screaming in the middle of the night. The preschooler is not easily comforted and screams if the parents try to restrain the child. What should the nurse instruct the parents to do?

• A. Always read a story to the child before bedtime.
• B. Intervene only if necessary to protect the child from injury.
• C. Discuss counseling options with the primary health care provider.
• D. Try to wake the child and ask the child to describe the dream.

Correct answer: B

Rationale: Waking up screaming from sleep at night indicates sleep terrors. The nurse would advise the parents to observe the child and intervene only if there is a risk for injury. Reading a story before bedtime helps calm the child before sleeping, but it does not ensure that the child will not have a sleep terror. There is no need for professional counseling because sleep terrors are a common phenomenon in preschool-age children. Trying to wake the child and asking the child to describe the dream is not appropriate as the child is not aware of anybody's presence during a sleep terror, and this may cause the child to scream and thrash more.

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