A 33-year-old patient has been told that her disease is terminal. The patient is crying and states, "l will just be a dependent drain on my family. I hate being a burden to them." The nurse can best respond:

Option C is the best response because it acknowledges the patient's feelings of being a burden on her family and encourages her to express her concerns further. By asking the patient to describe what she means by burden, the nurse demonstrates empathy, active listening, and a willingness to understand the patient's perspective. This approach opens the door for therapeutic communication and allows the nurse to explore the patient's feelings and concerns more deeply.

A. "I know. I would feel terrible if I had been told I was dying." This response does not effectively address the patient's concerns or provide therapeutic communication. It shifts the focus from the patient's feelings to the nurse's hypothetical reaction, which may invalidate the patient's emotions and fail to address her immediate needs.

B. "Is there any reason to tell your family about this now? You still have some time in which you can enjoy life." This response minimizes the patient's emotions and fails to acknowledge her distress about feeling like a burden to her family. It also suggests avoiding communication with her family, which may not be in line with the patient's values or preferences regarding sharing important information.

C. "You have heard some very bad news today. Can you describe what you mean by burden?" This response acknowledges the patient's feelings and invites further discussion about her concerns. By encouraging the patient to describe her feelings of being a burden, the nurse demonstrates empathy and validates the patient's emotions, which can promote therapeutic communication and understanding.

D. "I doubt that your loving family will view your terminal care as a burden." While this response attempts to provide reassurance, it may come across as dismissive of the patient's feelings and concerns. It assumes how the patient's family will react without addressing the patient's immediate emotional needs or exploring her perspective further.

A. Administering morphine can help decrease pain associated with dyspnea, but the primary goal in this scenario is to address the dyspnea itself rather than pain specifically.

B. While morphine can help dry up secretions to some extent, its primary action in this context is to alleviate dyspnea by reducing respiratory effort and rate.

C. Morphine is commonly used in palliative care to relieve dyspnea by depressing the respiratory center in the brain, leading to a decrease in respiratory rate and effort. This helps alleviate the sensation of breathlessness and discomfort associated with dyspnea.

D. Administering morphine in small doses for dyspnea relief is not intended to hasten death but rather to provide comfort and relief from distressing symptoms at the end of life. The goal is to improve quality of life rather than hastening death.