A patient is close to death with terminal liver cancer with widespread metastases and calls the nursing staff to his room every 5 minutes. Which interventions will be most supportive and in the best interest of the patient?
a. Encourage and insist that the family re-quest a transfer to hospice care because the general hospital does not have enough staff members to keep responding to the patient's end-stage frequent calling and requests for minor help.
b. Use fixed interval and cocktail medication administration. Frequently evaluate for breakthrough pain and anxieties. Answer the call bell quickly on the intercom or in person.
c. Tell the family that as of this afternoon, all of the patient's questions, comments, and expressed fears of dying and financial worries will be referred to the social worker, physician, or clergy. Otherwise, one of them can come in and sit beside the bed.
d. Plan to limit strictly the time spent with the patient because the nurse cannot do much that could be beneficial at this point.
B
Therapeutic touch, the nurse's presence, and sufficient pain medication to make the patient comfortable are appropriate nursing actions.
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