An older client has gastric cancer and is scheduled to have a partial gastrectomy. The family does not want the client told about her diagnosis. What action by the nurse is best?
a. Ask the family why they feel this way.
b. Assess family concerns and fears.
c. Refuse to go along with the family's wishes.
d. Tell the family that such secrets cannot be kept.
ANS: B
The nurse should use open-ended questions and statements to fully assess the family's concerns and fears. Asking "why" questions often puts people on the defensive and is considered a barrier to therapeutic communication. Refusing to follow the family's wishes or keep their confidence will not help move this family from their position and will set up an adversarial relationship.
You might also like to view...
After administering a preoperative sedative, the nurse notes that the surgical consent form has not been signed by the patient. What is the nurse's priority intervention?
1. Contact the surgeon. 2. Ask the patient to sign the consent form. 3. Send the patient for surgery with an unsigned consent form. 4. Phone the operating room suite to notify the nurse that the patient has not signed the consent form.
In conducting a keyword search of a literature database, including the Boolean operator "OR" to connect two words has what effect on the search results?
a. Expands the search to include all articles containing either word b. Narrows the search to include only articles that contain both words c. Confuses the search so you may not get all articles related to your topic d. Defines the search by one or the other word
A nurse would like to help members of the community focus on receiving primary preventive health care services. Which of the following interventions should be implemented by the nurse? (Select all that apply.)
a. Publicize data on success of health promotion efforts, including cost savings. b. Lobby for decreased reimbursement for secondary and tertiary care services. c. Establish standards for appropriate screenings at specific intervals. d. Encourage members of the military service to engage in appropriate healthy lifestyle behaviors.
On admission to the hospital, a terminal cancer patient says he has a living will. This document functions to state the client's desire to:
A. Receive all means of technical assistance and equipment used to prolong his life B. Have his wife make decisions regarding his care C. Be allowed to die without life-prolonging techniques D. Have a lethal injection administered to relieve his suffering