A student says, "Before taking a test, I feel very alert and a little restless." Which nursing intervention is most appropriate to assist the student?
a. Explain that the symptoms result from mild anxiety and discuss the helpful aspects.
b. Advise the student to discuss this experience with a health care provider.
c. Encourage the student to begin antioxidant vitamin supplements.
d. Listen attentively, using silence in a therapeutic way.
ANS: A
Teaching about symptoms of anxiety, their relation to precipitating stressors, and, in this case, the positive effects of anxiety will serve to reassure the patient. Advising the patient to discuss the experience with a health care provider implies that the patient has a serious problem. Listening without comment will do no harm but deprives the patient of health teaching. Antioxidant vitamin supplements are not useful in this scenario.
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