Nokea
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.
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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.
A community mental health nurse plans an educational program for staff members at a home health agency that specializes in the care of older adults. What topic is of high priority?
- A. Identifying depression in older adults
- B. Providing cost-effective foot care for older adults
- C. Identifying nutritional deficiencies in older adults
- D. Psychosocial stimulation for those who live alone
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Depression is the most common, most debilitating, and also most treatable psychiatric disorder in the older adult. Home health staff are often better versed in the physical aspects of care and less knowledgeable about mental health topics. Statistics show that older adult patients with mental health problems are less likely than young adults to be diagnosed accurately.
When admitting older adult patients, health care agencies receiving federal funds must provide written information about what topic?
- A. Advance health care directives
- B. The financial status of the institution
- C. How to sign out against medical advice
- D. The institution's policy on the use of restraints
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The Patient Self-Determination Act of 1990 requires that patients have the opportunity to prepare advance directives.
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.
A nurse leads a staff development session about ageism among health care workers. What information should the nurse include about the consequences of ageism?
- A. Failure of older adults to receive necessary medical information
- B. Development of public policy that favors programs for older adults
- C. Staff shortages because caregivers prefer working with younger adults
- D. Perception that older adults consume a small share of medical resources
- E. More ancillary than professional personnel discriminate with regard to age
Correct Answer: A,C
Rationale: Because of society's negative stereotyping of older adults, some staff avoid working with them, leading to staff shortages, and older adults often receive less information about their conditions.