Chapter 25 loss, grief Flashcards
(19 cards)
What is the final stage of human growth and development?
a. Integrity
b. Death
c. Despair
d. Resolution
ANS: B
Death is the final stage of growth and development.
A young nurse caring for a dying patient hastens through the care and leaves the room as
quickly as possible. What common reaction to the care of the dying is the nurseexhibiting?
a. Efficiency
b. Anger
c. Withdrawal
d. Anxiety
ANS: C
Withdrawal is a common reaction to the care of the dying.
Changes in health care reimbursement measures have resulted in which of the following
changes regarding care of the terminally ill?
a. Patients spend more time in hospitals.
b. Nurses provide more care in hospitals.
c. More patients die at home.
d. Patients spend more time in rehab facilities.
ANS: C
Due to changes in reimbursement measures, more patients are dying at home.
How does a perceived loss differ from an actual loss?
a. A perceived loss is more quickly resolved.
b. A perceived loss is situational.
c. A perceived loss is easily overlooked.
d. A perceived loss has a superficial response.
ANS: C
Perceived losses are easily overlooked.
Upon being told of her father’s death, the daughter cries out, “No! Oh, God, no!” What
stage of grief is the daughter in?
a. Anger
b. Bargaining
c. Denial
d. Prayer
ANS: C
The daughter is exhibiting signs of denial, which is commonly one of the first stages of grief.
What should the nurse do before approaching a grieving family member?
a. Offer sympathy
b. Assess level of resolution
c. Give assurance that the pain will pass
d. Encourage the family member to return to normal activities
ANS: B
The nurse should assess each aspect of grieving to fully understand where family members
are in their grief in order to offer the most effective assistance.
A dying patient uses the call light frequently to ask the nurse to do simple tasks. The nurse
recognizes this as a fear of:
a. increased pain.
b. failure.
c. abandonment.
d. isolation.
ANS: C
A major fear of the dying patient is fear of abandonment.
What is the first thing the nurse should do before involving the family in the care of a dying
patient?
a. Ask the patient if he or she wants family care.
b. Ask family members if they want to assist with care.
c. Check the hospital policy on the family giving care.
d. Set a caring example.
ANS: B
Ascertaining whether the family wants to assist in the patient’s daily care will clarify what
the family members are comfortable doing.
Which of the following would lead the home health nurse to make a patient problem of
unresolved grief for a patient who was widowed 5 months ago?
a. Seeing that the patient keeps a picture of the husband by her bed.
b. The patient said tearfully, “I can’t believe he is gone.”
c. Assessing that the patient eats out frequently rather than cooking at home.
d. The patient says that she attends church three times a week.
ANS: B
Unresolved grief results when a grieving person does not move past some stage of the grief
process. The widow is still in denial. It would be expected for the widow to keep pictures of
her husband in the home. Eating out frequently and attending church would not lead to a
diagnosis of unresolved grief, but instead would be encouraged.
When the nurse is developing a care plan for a terminally ill patient, what might be a
realistic goal?
a. The patient will remain pain-free.
b. The patient will function optimally.
c. The patient will spend time out of bed.
d. The patient will demonstrate improved nutritional status.
ANS: B
The goal of the care plan for a terminally ill patient is to assist the patient to function
optimally. The other options are not realistic.
Following the death of a day-old infant, the nurse brings the baby to the parents. What is the
rationale for the parents’ visit with the deceased baby?
a. Bond with the family.
b. Reinforce the individuality of the baby.
c. Generate preparation for another child.
d. Make the death a reality.
ANS: D
When possible, the parents should see, touch, and hold the infant to cope better with the
reality of the death.
The nurse spends a great deal of time in the room of a dying 12-year-old because the nurse
knows that most children are aware of their condition and want the nurse to do which of the
following?
a. Keep them clean.
b. Help them eat.
c. Care about them.
d. Keep them comfortable.
ANS: C
Children, like adults, fear abandonment as death approaches and gain comfort from the
presence of the nurse.
After a health care provider in the emergency department has pronounced a 2-year-old dead
following a swimming pool accident, the mother tearfully says to the father, “I am so sorry.
I am so sorry.” What is the mother expressing?
a. Fear
b. Guilt
c. Hostility
d. Grief
ANS: B
Parents often harbor extreme guilt in an “out of sequence death.”
What is the termination of tube feedings to a dying patient considered?
a. Active euthanasia
b. Holistic care
c. Passive euthanasia
d. Terminal care
ANS: C
Permitting the death of a patient by withholding treatments is referred to as passive
euthanasia.
How is a durable power of attorney helpful to an incapacitated patient?
a. It directs treatment in accordance with the patient’s wishes.
b. It directs an agent to make health care decisions.
c. It gives power to an agent to make decisions regarding health, property, and other
assets.
d. It can only be executed by an attorney.
ANS: B
The durable power of attorney gives an agent the power to make health care decisions. It can
be executed by anyone and does not extend beyond health care issues. A living will directs
treatment according to the patient’s wishes.
When a nurse informs a patient’s spouse that the patient has died, the spouse states, “You
must be mistaken.” Which of Kübler-Ross’s stages of dying is the spouse demonstrating?
a. Anger
b. Denial
c. Depression
d. Bargaining
ANS: B
When experiencing denial, the individual acts as though nothing has happened and may
refuse to believe or understand that loss has occurred.
A patient whose spouse died 1 year earlier complains of feeling overwhelmingly lonely and
has withdrawn from interpersonal interactions. The patient is demonstrating what stage of
dying according to Kübler-Ross’s stages of dying theory?
a. Anger
b. Denial
c. Depression
d. Bargaining
ANS: C
When experiencing depression, the individual feels overwhelmingly lonely and withdraws
from interpersonal interaction.
A nurse is caring for the dying mother of a 7-year-old child. What is important for the nurse
to understand regarding the child?
a. The child associates death with aggression.
b. The child believes his or her own death cannot be avoided.
c. The child lacks understanding of the concept of death.
d. The child understands death as the inevitable end of life.
ANS: A
A child from 5 to 9 years old understands that death is final, believes one’s own death can
be avoided, associates death with aggression or violence, and believes wishes or unrelated
actions can be responsible for death. A child between the ages of 9 to 12 years understands
that death is the inevitable end of life.
The nurse explains to a grieving husband that the process of the resolution of the hurt and
the reestablishment of his life is called the process.
a. grief
b. renewal
c. denial
d. acceptance
ANS: A
The grief process includes the resolution of the hurt and the reestablishment of life activities
following bereavement.
