Your patient has been admitted for a liver biopsy because the physician believes the patient may have liver cancer
The family has told both you and the physician that if the patient is terminal, the family does not want the patient to know. The biopsy results are positive for an aggressive form of liver cancer and the patient asks you repeatedly what the results of the biopsy show. What strategy can you use to give ethical care to this patient?
A) Obtain the results of the biopsy and provide them to the patient.
B) Tell the patient that only the physician knows the results of the biopsy.
C) Promptly communicate the patient's request for information to the family and the physician.
D) Tell the patient that the biopsy results are not back yet in order temporarily to appease him.
Ans: C
Feedback:
Strategies nurses could consider include the following: not lying to the patient, providing all information related to nursing procedures and diagnoses, and communicating the patient's requests for information to the family and physician. Ethically, you cannot tell the patient the results of the biopsy and you cannot lie to the patient.
You might also like to view...
The nurse discussing nutrition with a pregnant woman, would inform the woman that which of the following are good sources of folic acid? (Select all that apply.)
a. Meat d. Yeast b. Eggs e. Apricots c. Legumes f. Green leafy vegeta-bles
Felicity Chan, a new mother, is accompanied by her mother during her hospital stay on the postpartum unit
Felicity's mother makes specific various requests of the nurses including bringing warm tea, a cot to sleep on and that the baby not be bathed at this time. Felicity's mother is also concerned about the amount of work that Felicity may be doing in the provision of infant care. The nurse notices that Felicity asks for help with breastfeeding as her mother bottle fed her and is not sure what advice to give. After Felicity has finished breastfeeding, her mother asks for a bottle so they can warm it and "feed" the baby. How would the perinatal nurse best respond to Felicity's mother in a culturally sensitive way? A) Ask Felicity's mother to leave for 30 minutes to allow for some private time with Felicity to explore her learning needs privately B) Ask both Felicity and her mother about the preferred infant feeding method and assess what they already know C) Convey to Felicity and her mother an understanding of the concepts of "hot" and "cold" within their belief system D) Ask Felicity what she knows about breastfeeding and provide information to both women to support Felicity's decision
The nurse prepares a presentation about the World Health Organization's World Health Statistics Report for 2013. Which trend is mentioned in this report?
A) Children in low-income countries are 2 times more likely to die before reaching the age of 5 years than children in high-income countries. B) Every day 800 women die due to complications of pregnancy and childbirth. C) Zimbabwe now has a higher life expectancy than 7 out of 10 countries in Eastern Europe. D) Almost 5% of the world's adult population has diabetes.
A patient reports a new onset of a health problem. Which is the primary reason for a patient to seek medical attention?
A. Bleeding B. Pain C. Fatigue D. Vomiting