A nurse wants to perform a preliminary assessment for suicidal ideation in an older adult patient. Which question would obtain the desired data?
- A. What thoughts do you have about a person's right to take his or her own life?'
- B. If you felt suicidal, would you communicate your feelings to anyone?'
- C. Do you have any risk factors that potentially contribute to suicide?'
- D. Do you think you are vulnerable to developing a depressed mood?'
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The correct response is clear, direct, respectful, and open-ended, producing information relative to the acceptability of suicide as an option.
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A nurse caring for an older adult patient population should be familiar with which legal and ethical issues that are common concerns for this group?
- A. Physical abuse
- B. Autonomous decision making
- C. Emotional abuse
- D. Financial abuse
- E. Need for medication therapy
Correct Answer: A,C
Rationale: Among the most important legal and ethical issues are decision-making about health care and various forms of elder abuse, including physical and emotional abuse.
Which beliefs facilitate provision of safe, effective care for older adult patients?
- A. Sexual interest declines with aging.
- B. Older adults are able to learn new tasks.
- C. Aging results in a decline in restorative sleep.
- D. Older adults are prone to become crime victims.
- E. Older adults are usually lonely and socially isolated.
Correct Answer: B,C,D
Rationale: Older adults are more prone to become crime victims, experience a decline in restorative sleep, and can continue learning new tasks, which affect care delivery.
What is the highest priority for assessment by nurses caring for older adults who self-administer medications?
- A. Use of multiple drugs with anticholinergic effects
- B. Overuse of medications for erectile dysfunction
- C. Misuse of antihypertensive medications
- D. Trading medications with others
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Anticholinergic effects are cumulative in older adults and often have adverse consequences related to accidents and injuries.
Which statement about aging provides the best rationale for focused assessment of older adult patients?
- A. Older adults are often socially isolated and lonely.
- B. As people age, they become more rigid in their thinking.
- C. The majority of older adults sleep more than 12 hours per day.
- D. The senses of vision, hearing, touch, taste, and smell decline with age.
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Only the correct answer is true and cues the nurse to assess carefully the sensory functions of the older adult patient. The incorrect options are myths about aging.
An older adult patient brings a bag of medication to the clinic. The nurse found one bottle labeled 'Ativan' and one labeled 'lorazepam,' and both are labeled 'Take two times daily.' Bottles of hydrochlorothiazide, Inderal, and rofecoxib, each labeled 'Take one daily,' are also included. Which conclusion is accurate?
- A. Rofecoxib should not be taken with Ativan.
- B. The patient's blood pressure is likely to be very high.
- C. This patient should not self-administer any medication.
- D. Lorazepam and Ativan are the same drug; consequently, the dose is excessive.
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Lorazepam and Ativan are generic and trade names for the same drug, creating an accidental overdose situation.
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