A nurse is caring for a patient who expresses a desire to have an elective abortion. The nurse's religious and ethical values are strongly opposed. How should the nurse best handle the situation?
a. Attempt to educate the patient about the consequences of abortion.
b. Refer the patient to a family planning center or another health professional.
c. Continue to care for the patient, and limit conversation as much as possible.
d. Inform the patient that, because of immoral issues, another nurse will have to care for her.
ANS: B
The nurse must be aware of personal beliefs and values and is not required to participate in counseling or procedures that compromise those values. However, the patient is entitled to nonjudgmental care and should be referred to someone who can create a trusting environment. The nurse should not care for a patient if the quality of care could be jeopardized. The nurse should not attempt to push personal values onto a patient. The nurse also should not create tension by informing the patient that he or she does not have the same morals; this could cause the patient to feel guilty or defensive when receiving care from any health care professional.
You might also like to view...
After the cell has produced all substances necessary for the formation of a new cell, mitosis occurs in what phase of the cell cycle?
A) G0 phase B) M phase C) S phase D) G2 phase
In instructing a patient about corticosteroid therapy, the patient asks if he can just stop this medication before returning to the physician's office. Which would be the nurse's best response?
a. "Take this medication until you've completed it." b. "The medication must be slowly reduced." c. "Go ahead; there is no real precaution with this drug therapy." d. "The amount you're taking is small, so stopping is all right at any time."
_____ communication is spontaneous, is used in everyday life, and in less formal environments, does not have specific goals
a. Therapeutic c. Intrapersonal b. Social d. Nonverbal
Phenothiazine medications exert their antiemetic properties by:
A) promoting the secretion of hormones in the brain that depress the function of the medulla oblongata. B) antagonizing dopaminergic receptor sites in the brain, which suppresses the function of the hypothalamus. C) blocking histamine-2 receptors, which inhibits gastric acid production and slows peristalsis. D) activating dopaminergic receptors in the brain and releasing hormones that depress the reticular activating system.