What nursing intervention is most appropriate when providing comfort and support for a child when death is imminent?
- A. Limit care to essentials.
- B. Avoid playing music near the child.
- C. Whisper to the child instead of using a normal voice.
- D. Explain to the child the need for constant measurement of vital signs.
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Limiting care to essentials prioritizes comfort and palliative interventions, reducing distress. Music can be soothing, whispering may be unclear, and frequent vital sign checks are unnecessary and intrusive at this stage.
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A school-age child is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. The parents want to protect their child from knowing the seriousness of the illness. The nurse should provide which explanation?
- A. This attitude is helpful to give parents time to cope.
- B. This will help the child cope effectively by denial.
- C. Terminally ill children know when they are seriously ill.
- D. Terminally ill children usually choose not to discuss the seriousness of their illness.
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Children, even young ones, sense the seriousness of their illness due to increased medical attention, making honesty essential. Denial is an ineffective coping mechanism, protecting the child does not primarily serve parental coping, and children may want to discuss their condition if given the opportunity.
The nurse is making a home visit 48 hours after the death of an infant from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). What intervention is an appropriate objective for this visit?
- A. Give contraceptive information.
- B. Provide information on the grief process.
- C. Reassure parents that SIDS is not likely to occur again.
- D. Thoroughly investigate the home situation to verify SIDS as the cause of death.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Providing information on the grief process helps parents navigate their loss, offering support and resources. Contraceptive information is inappropriate, reassuring about SIDS recurrence is premature and false, and investigating the home is not the nurse?s role post-death.
What is a principle of palliative care that can be included in the care of children?
- A. Maintenance of curative therapy
- B. Child and family as the unit of care
- C. Exclusive focus on the spiritual issues the family faces
- D. Extensive use of opiates to ensure total pain control
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Palliative care for children emphasizes a multidisciplinary approach focusing on symptom control and support for the family as the unit of care, rather than cure when it is no longer possible. Curative therapy is transitioned away from, spiritual issues are one aspect among others, and opiate use is balanced to manage pain while minimizing side effects.
The nurse is often the individual who is in the optimum position to suggest tissue donation to a family (after consultation with the practitioner). What will occur if a family chooses organ or tissue donation?
- A. The funeral will be delayed.
- B. Cremation is the preferred method of burial.
- C. Written consent is required for tissue or organ donation.
- D. An open casket cannot be used subsequent to this procedure.
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Written informed consent is required for organ or tissue donation, ensuring legal and ethical compliance. Funerals are not typically delayed, cremation is not required, and an open casket is possible as donation does not cause visible disfigurement.
When is an autopsy required?
- A. In the case of a suspected suicide
- B. When a person has a known terminal illness
- C. With a hospice patient who dies at home
- D. With the victim of a motor vehicle collision
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: An autopsy is required in cases of suspected suicide, unexplained, or violent deaths to determine the cause. It is optional for terminal illnesses, hospice deaths, or motor vehicle collisions unless the cause is unclear, and family consent may be sought.
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