Which statement should guide a nurse working with geriatric clients in planning care for this population? Responses to loss by the elderly differ from responses by younger cohorts in that:
1. The elderly have ineffective coping mechanisms related to ageism
2. Losses are more intense for the elderly because of their increased vulnerability
3. Loss has less meaning for the elderly because of memory impairments
4. Losses are often multiple, thus rendering past coping mechanisms ineffective
ANS: 4
The additive or multiple nature of losses for the elderly can be debilitating. Options 1, 2, and 3 are not entirely true statements.
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An elderly patient who is about to have open-heart surgery has verbally instructed the nurse that she does not want her life to be extended by a ventilator after the surgery
The patient's advance directive, however, indicates that she would prefer to receive all life-support measures. The nurse suspects that the patient has dementia. Which of the following questions would be most appropriate for the nurse to ask in the assessment stage of ethical decision making? A) What are the ethical issues related to continuing or removing life-support measures for this patient? B) Who should be involved in making the decision regarding life-support measures for this patient? C) Is this patient mentally competent to make decisions about use of life support? D) What educational changes can be made in the ICU to resolve similar ethical challenges related to life support measures in the future?
A 50-year-old woman has experienced devastating consequences in her family and work life as a result of her long-standing alcohol addiction
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The nurse is teaching the client who requires maximum support secondary to generalized weakness to walk with a walker
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