A nurse manager in a public health clinic is reviewing the charts of five recent clients.

Exhibits

The nurse manager should identify which of the following clients as having conditions that require national notification?

Please select all that apply:

Choice A rationale

Discussing the risks of being homeless with the client is an important part of understanding their situation, but it is not the nurse’s initial action when caring for a client who is homeless. The nurse’s initial action should be to establish trust and understand the client’s perspective.

Choice B rationale

This is the correct answer. Determining the client’s understanding of their living situation is the nurse’s initial action when caring for a client who is homeless. This helps the nurse to understand the client’s perspective and to tailor care to meet the client’s unique needs.

Choice C rationale

Assisting the client to develop goals for obtaining shelter is an important part of the care plan for a client who is homeless, but it is not the nurse’s initial action. The nurse’s initial action should be to establish trust and understand the client’s perspective.

Choice D rationale

Developing client teaching using a variety of strategies is an important part of nursing care, but it is not the nurse’s initial action when caring for a client who is homeless. The nurse’s initial action should be to establish trust and understand the client’s perspective.

Choice A rationale

Advance directives do not decrease the potential for receiving palliative care. In fact, they can help ensure that a person’s wishes for end-of-life care, including the desire for palliative care, are respected.

Choice B rationale

While advance directives can help uphold the ethical principle of veracity by ensuring that a person’s true wishes for their care are known and respected, this is not their primary purpose. The main purpose of advance directives is to guide decision-making when a person is unable to make or communicate their own healthcare decisions.

Choice C rationale

This statement accurately reflects the purpose of advance directives. Advance directives ease the difficult decisions faced by those involved in a person’s care by providing clear guidance on the person’s wishes for their healthcare.

Choice D rationale

This statement is not accurate. Advance directives do not detail a doctor’s decisions about a person’s end-of-life care. Instead, they provide guidance on the person’s own wishes for their care.