The nurse is caring for a patient who is terminally ill with very little time left to live. The patient states, "I always believed that there was life after death. Now, I'm not so sure. Do you think there is?" The nurse states, "I believe there is."
The nurse has attempted to
a. Strengthen the patient's religion.
b. Provide hope.
c. Support the patient's agnostic beliefs.
d. Support the horizontal dimension of spiritual well-being.
ANS: B
When a person has the attitude of something to look forward to, hope is present. Religion refers to the system of organized beliefs and worship that a person practices to outwardly express spirituality. This is not evident here. Agnostics believe that there is no known ultimate reality. This would indicate a lack of belief in life after death. The horizontal dimension of spiritual well-being describes positive relationships and connections people have with others. In this case, the patient is more concerned with the vertical dimension, which supports the transcendent relationship with God or some other higher power.
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