A 9-year-old child is in the hospital preparing for major abdominal surgery for a tumor on a kidney. The parents of the child tell the nurse that they don't want the child to receive narcotics for pain postoperatively

Question

The best response by the nurse is: 1. "Okay, I'll tell the doctor not to order any. Are you sure you want to do this?"
2. "You do not have a choice of medication. Decisions involving pain relief are up to the health care providers.".
3. "The pain for your child will be severe. Can you tell me why you feel this way?"
4. "The pain will be severe. Why don't we ask your child about this?"

Answer 1

3. "The pain for your child will be severe. Can you tell me why you feel this way?"

Rationale:
As a client advocate, the nurse would defend the need for effective pain medication by using assertive communication. The nurse tells the parents the truth about pain and then proceeds to explore the parents' objection to the drugs with them. Acceding to the request of the parents is submissive communication and would not be in the best interests of the child. Telling the parents they do not have a choice is aggressive and untrue. Putting the child in the middle of the discussion is a divisive maneuver.