The nurse manager of the psychiatric unit plans the biweekly, unit-wide interdisciplinary team case conference focused on one particular client. Which client is most important for the manager to select for discussion?
- A. A client who was admitted after a second serious suicide attempt and refuses to talk.
- B. A client toward whom the staff have sharply conflicting attitudes and actions.
- C. A client who experiences hallucinations, takes possessions from other clients, and paces continually.
- D. A client, well known and well liked by staff, whose diagnostic testing reveals a brain tumor.
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: A client with a recent serious suicide attempt who refuses to talk is at high risk for self-harm and requires urgent interdisciplinary discussion to coordinate safety and treatment plans. Other cases, while significant, are less immediately life-threatening.
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A client recovering from a diagnosed head injury becomes agitated at times. Which nursing action is most appropriate when attempting to calm this client?
- A. Assign the client a new task to master.
- B. Turn on the television to a musical program.
- C. Make the client aware that the behavior is undesirable.
- D. Talk about the family pictures on display in the client's room.
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Providing familiar objects will decrease anxiety. Decreasing environmental stimuli also aids in reducing agitation for the head-injured client. Option 1 does not simplify the environment because a new task may be frustrating. Option 2 increases stimuli. In option 3 the nurse uses negative reinforcement to help the client adjust.
A preschool child is placed in traction for a femur fracture. The child has started bedwetting, even though the child has been toilet trained for a year. The mother is very upset about the situation. The nurse explains to the mother that this behavior should be recognized as which psychosocial adaptation?
- A. A body image disturbance
- B. Attention-seeking behavior
- C. Opposition to authority figures
- D. Regressing to earlier developmental behavior
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: The monotony of immobilization can lead to sluggish intellectual and psychomotor responses. Regressive behaviors are not uncommon in immobilized children, and they usually do not require professional intervention. Body image may or may not be affected by long-term immobilization, but it does not relate to the information presented in the question. The remaining options are not relevant to the described situation.
The nurse provides care for a client who exhibits the signs and symptoms of acute confusion and delirium. Which strategy is appropriate for the nurse to implement?
- A. Keep the room organized and clean.
- B. Maintain a high environmental noise level.
- C. Keep lights in the room dimmed during the day.
- D. Use restraints as needed for client safety.
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Keeping the room organized and clean minimizes sensory overload and confusion, promoting a calming environment for a client with delirium. High noise, dim lights, or restraints can worsen agitation and are not appropriate unless safety is imminently threatened.
The nurse is caring for a client with a history of schizophrenia. The nurse asks the client if he is ready to eat his lunch. The client responds, 'Rain, train, down the drain, Jane's brain.' The nurse recognizes this type of speech pattern as which type?
- A. echolalia
- B. word salad
- C. neologisms
- D. clang association
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Clang association is characterized by words chosen for their sound (e.g., rhyming or alliteration) rather than meaning, as seen in the client's response.
A client with a diagnosis of schizophrenia is experiencing visual hallucinations. The nurse plans care based on the determination that this symptom is related to an alteration in brain function in which lobe of the cerebrum?
- A. 1
- B. 2
- C. 3
- D. 4
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Visual hallucinations indicate an alteration in brain function in the cerebrum. The occipital lobe is located in the back of the head and is primarily responsible for seeing and receiving information and is responsible for visual hallucinations. The temporal lobe lies beneath the skull on both sides of the brain and is primarily responsible for hearing and receiving information via the ears. Symptoms indicating an alteration of function in the temporal lobe include auditory hallucinations, sensory aphasia, alterations in memory, and altered emotional responses. The frontal lobe is located in the anterior or front area of the brain and is primarily responsible for motor functions, higher thought processes such as decision making, intellectual insight and judgment, and expression of emotion. Symptoms indicating an alteration of function in the frontal lobe include changes in affect, alteration in language production, alteration in motor function, impulsive behavior, and impaired decision making. The parietal lobe lies beneath the skull at the back and top of the head and is primarily responsible for association and sensory perception. Symptoms indicating an alteration of function in the parietal lobe include alterations in sensory perceptions, difficulty with time concepts and calculating numbers, alteration in personal hygiene, and poor attention span.