A nurse sits with a patient diagnosed with schizophrenia. The patient starts to laugh uncontrollably, although the nurse has not said anything funny. Select the nurse's best response
a. "Why are you laughing?"
b. "Please share the joke with me."
c. "I don't think I said anything funny."
d. "You're laughing. Tell me what's happening."
ANS: D
The patient is likely laughing in response to inner stimuli, such as hallucinations or fantasy. Focus on the hallucinatory clue (the patient's laughter) and then elicit the patient's observation. The incorrect options are less useful in eliciting a response: no joke may be involved, "why" questions are difficult to answer, and the patient is probably not focusing on what the nurse said in the first place.
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