A patient has been newly diagnosed with AIDS. The patient is a 32-year-old mother of two young children. When you are doing your initial assessment, the patient expresses fear of dying. How should the nurse best respond to the patient?
A) "Would you like to talk to someone?"
B) "Everyone dies eventually."
C) "You are afraid of death; what concerns you most about death?"
D) "You may live for several years."
Ans: C
Feedback: The nurse can help the patient verbalize feelings and identify resources for support.
The nurse should respond with an open-ended question to help facilitate the patient to identify fears about being diagnosed with a life-threatening chronic illness.
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