A nurse is caring for a client who is at the end of life. The client's partner is concerned about using opioid narcotics to manage the client's pain. Which of the following statements should the nurse make?

A. Increase in postoperative pain: Preoperative teaching typically includes information about pain management strategies, which should help to reduce, not increase, postoperative pain.

B. Reduced postoperative anxiety: This is correct. One of the key benefits of preoperative education is reduced anxiety. By understanding what to expect before, during, and after surgery, patients are often less anxious about the procedure.

C. Reduced postoperative respiratory function: Preoperative teaching usually includes instructions on deep breathing and coughing exercises to help prevent respiratory complications after surgery. Therefore, it should improve, not reduce, postoperative respiratory function.

D. Increased length of postoperative care in the health care facility: Preoperative education has been shown to reduce the length of hospital stay. By better understanding their surgery and postoperative care, patients are often able to recover more quickly and leave the hospital sooner

(A) Develop client-specific goals and outcomes: While this is an important step in the nursing process, it is not the first step. Before developing goals and outcomes, the nurse needs to understand the client’s situation, which in this case involves determining the nature of the client’s grief.

(B) Incorporate the treatment into the client’s care: Incorporating treatment into the client’s care is part of the implementation phase of the nursing process. Before this step, the nurse needs to assess the client’s condition and plan the care, which includes understanding the nature of the client’s grief.

(C) Determine whether coping strategies were successful: Determining the success of coping strategies is part of the evaluation phase of the nursing process. This is typically done after the implementation of care and treatment. It is not the first step in caring for a client experiencing grief.

(D) Establish whether the client’s grieving is healthy or complicated: This is the most appropriate answer. The first step in the nursing process is assessment. For a client experiencing grief, this would involve establishing whether the client’s grieving is healthy (a normal response to loss) or complicated (prolonged or more intense grief that may require additional support or intervention). This understanding will guide the subsequent steps of the nursing process, including planning care and setting goals.