A client is exhibiting signs of mild delirium such as occasional confusion about why he is in the hospital and what day of the week it is

Question

When developing a care plan, the nurse identifies several strategies to improve the client's cognitive function. Which of the following interventions will be most helpful to the client?
A) Keep the television on to provide stimulation
B) Have someone play checkers with the client
C) Write the date and the times of scheduled activities on a whiteboard
D) Place the client on bed rest to ensure energy conservation and rapid recovery

Answer 1

Ans: C
Feedback:
The confused client will be calmer when the nurse eliminates environmental stimuli that invite misinterpretation, such as abstract pictures on the wall or excessive background noise and television. Conversely, the nurse can provide environmental cues in the form of clocks, recognizable pictures, and calendars to help restore orientation to time and place. A caveat to reducing environmental stimuli is to not create an understimulating environment, which can be just as detrimental as an overstimulating one. The key is to remove abstract or difficult-to-interpret environmental cues and replace them with simple, easy-to-recognize ones.