While awaiting the imminent death of her sister, an older female adult makes arrange-ments to bury her sister in the survivor's home state because she cannot reach other family members. Which step should the nurse implement?
a. Ask questions, including location of her sister's family.
b. Instruct this woman that this is not her decision to make.
c. Try to contact the family to inform them of the decision.
d. Question her about holding behaviors that she will want.
A
Feedback
A Correct. In a countercoping intervention, the nurse assists the older adult to cope with loss by collecting information and encouraging her to avoid acting on im-pulse. The older adult can arrive at a hasty decision when not coping with grief well, so the nurse acts to help restore some control for the bereaved and helps to avoid a decision that might be regretted later.
B Incorrect. The nurse can ask the older adult if this is her decision but avoids in-structing her to do so.
C Incorrect. The nurse avoids acting without the sister's knowledge because the nurse does not have the right to impose personal feelings on the family or pa-tient.
D Incorrect. At a time when the older adult is acting impulsively it can be reasona-ble to have her cool off; however, the woman has made a hasty decision and needs help to resolve that issue. In addition, the nurse can be considered insensi-tive for asking about this issue before the patient is dead.
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