A client returns to the mental health clinic for assistance with an anxiety reaction that is manifested by a rapid heartbeat, sweating, shaking, and nausea while driving over the bay bridge. Which action in the treatment plan should the nurse implement?
Recommend that the client avoid driving over the bridge.
Teach the client to listen to music or audio books while driving.
Tell the client to drive over the bridge until fear is manageable.
Encourage the client to have the spouse drive in stressful places.
The Correct Answer is B
A. Recommend that the client avoid driving over the bridge: Avoidance reinforces the anxiety and prevents the client from developing effective coping mechanisms. Over time, this may worsen the phobia and reduce the client’s functional independence and quality of life.
B. Teach the client to listen to music or audio books while driving: Calming distractions can help reduce anxiety symptoms and promote gradual exposure to the feared situation. This approach supports desensitization while helping the client stay in control and manage symptoms.
C. Tell the client to drive over the bridge until fear is manageable: Flooding, or forced prolonged exposure, may overwhelm the client and worsen anxiety. A more gradual, supportive approach is generally safer and more effective in treating specific and anxiety.
D. Encourage the client to have the spouse drive in stressful places: Delegating driving to someone else may provide short-term relief, but it limits the client’s independence and does not promote long-term coping or resolution of the anxiety trigger.
Nursing Test Bank
Naxlex Comprehensive Predictor Exams
Related Questions
Correct Answer is C
Explanation
A. Assess for signs of urine retention: While important, urinary retention is a later complication. It does not take priority over assessing for potentially serious effects like respiratory depression or excessive spread of anesthesia.
B. Inspect epidural catheter insertion site: Inspecting the site helps identify infection or dislodgement but is not the first priority. Neurological and respiratory assessments take precedence due to fentanyl’s CNS effects.
C. Monitor the client's dermatome level for sensation: This assesses the spread of the anesthetic, ensuring it hasn’t ascended to high thoracic levels, which could depress respiration. It’s the most urgent check for client safety.
D. Inquire if the client is experiencing breakthrough pain: Pain assessment is critical, but ensuring safe levels of sensory block must come first to rule out excessive anesthetic spread or complications.
Correct Answer is B
Explanation
A. Recommend substituting opioids with other pain medication: Simply switching to another pain medication without addressing underlying misuse behaviors may reinforce dependency. This overlooks the denial and psychological aspects of addiction.
B. Explore other coping strategies aside from using medications: This client-centered approach gently addresses the issue without direct confrontation. It encourages self-reflection, promotes healthy alternatives, and meets the client where they are in terms of readiness for change, which is essential in early recovery.
C. Provide a list of local Narcotics Anonymous meetings: Although this is useful, offering it during the first interaction with a client in denial may lead to resistance. Engagement and trust-building through conversation about alternatives are more effective initially.
D. Explain that opioid abuse poses a great risk to life: Providing factual information about risk can be helpful, but directly labeling it as abuse when the client is in denial may trigger defensiveness. It is more therapeutic to explore behaviors and build insight before confrontation.
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