Acute illness is to chronic illness as to which of the following comparisons?

Question

a. An emergency department is to a nursing home
b. A hospital staff nurse is to a nurse practi-tioner
c. Health insurance is to Medicare for older adults
d. Inpatient surgical care is to outpatient medical care

Answer 1

A
Acute illness can be likened to an emergency department because it treats conditions with sudden onset and sudden exacerbations of existing conditions with short-term treatment options, as compared with a nursing home, which cares for individuals with long-term conditions that warrant admission after a decline in health or to individuals with long-term health care needs. The acute-chronic analogy is a comparison of sudden and short-term versus gradual and long-term.
The comparison between a nurse and a nurse practitioner is one of the practice settings and the scope of the practice. Medicare is a type of health insurance; however, chronic illness is not a type of acute illness. Inpatient surgical care can be emergent and elective, and outpatient medical care is usually for ongoing health care but can also be applied to emergent conditions.