A client becomes frustrated with the inability to remember foods eaten during the latest meal and asks if this is the beginning of dementia. The best response by the nurse would be:
1. "Yes, it is, which is why I asked the question."
2. "Yes, but the symptoms are not very bad and won't progress."
3. "No, but you are at risk because of your age."
4. "No, short term memory loss is a normal part of aging."
Answer: 4
1. The nurse may have been asking the question to assess nutritional status, not dementia. Even if suspected, the nurse does not inform the client.
2. Alzheimer and dementia are progressive diseases. Short term memory loss is normal.
3. Age is not a risk factor for dementia.
4. Short term memory loss is normal due to the normal loss of neurons during aging.
You might also like to view...
The nursing instructor is discussing assessment of the heart with students. A student states that he has a patient with a rushing vibration in the precordium that the student could feel and that it was in the area of the pulmonic valve
What should the instructor explain that the student is feeling? A) A thrill B) A thrust C) A heave D) A normal finding
In a sad voice, a patient tells the nurse of the recent deaths of a spouse of 50 years and their adult child in an automobile accident. The patient has no other family and only a few friends in the community. What is the priority nursing diagnosis?
a. Spiritual distress, related to being angry with God for taking the family b. Risk for suicide, related to recent deaths of significant others c. Anxiety, related to sudden and abrupt lifestyle changes d. Social isolation, related to loss of existing family
A nurse is completing a history on a patient with role conflict. Which finding is consistent with role conflict?
a. A patient is unsure about job expectations in a fast-paced company. b. A patient has to travel for work and misses children's birthdays. c. A patient feels less of a man after a leg amputation. d. A patient loses a job from the company's downsizing.
There are three steps to conflict management: determining the basis, analyzing the source, and conflict resolution. Which of the following may be the most likely source for conflict between a patient and the health care provider in the workplace?
a. Food served b. Medication effects c. Ethical dilemmas d. Smoking withdrawal