A home health care nurse has been working with a patient who has the nursing diagnosis Spiritual Distress. After a few weeks of implementing the care plan, what method is best for the nurse to determine if goals have been met?
a. Ask the patient to what extent he/she feels goals have been met.
b. Ask the patient to rate the distress on a scale of 1-10.
c. Assess for objective data to support goal attainment.
d. Determine if the patient thinks the interventions are helpful.
ANS: A
For a diagnosis with a large subjective component, getting the patient's feedback on goal attainment is best. There may be no objective data the nurse can use to rate goal attainment. Using a scale can be a part of the evaluation, but the patient's determination is best.
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