The nurse is having feelings of judgement regarding a client's contributory behavior to an automobile accident that resulted in deaths. Which action would the nurse take?
Letting the client know that he or she is now traumatized beyond repair
Discussing the nurse's personal feelings with a peer or a counselor
Acknowledging to the client the judgment regarding his or her contributory behavior
Sharing the client's horror and encouraging him or her to avoid thinking about it
The Correct Answer is B
Countertransference occurs when a nurse’s personal emotions, past experiences, or moral judgments are displaced onto a patient. In high-stakes trauma cases involving contributory behavior (such as driving under the influence or reckless negligence), nurses may experience a conflict between their ethical duty to provide care and their personal reaction to the patient's actions. Addressing these feelings through professional supervision is a standard of practice to maintain therapeutic neutrality and prevent the compromise of patient care.
Rationale:
A. Telling a client they are traumatized beyond repair is non-therapeutic and harmful. It violates the nursing principle of beneficence and can induce a sense of hopelessness. A nurse’s role is to support the patient’s physical and psychological stabilization, regardless of the nurse's personal opinion of the patient's past actions.
B. By discussing these feelings with a peer, mentor, or counselor, the nurse can process the emotional burden of the situation in a safe, confidential setting. This allows the nurse to maintain a professional boundary and ensures that their personal judgment does not manifest as neglect or bias during bedside care.
C. Acknowledging judgment directly to the patient is a boundary violation. It shifts the focus of the therapeutic relationship from the patient's needs to the nurse's emotions. This can create a hostile environment, cause the patient to withhold vital clinical information, and ultimately hinder the recovery process.
D. Encouraging a patient to avoid thinking about it is a form of false reassurance and avoidance. This can interfere with the patient’s ability to process the event and may delay the identification of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Although the nurse should not force the patient to dwell on the event, they should also not suppress the patient’s natural emotional responses.
Nursing Test Bank
Naxlex Comprehensive Predictor Exams
Related Questions
Correct Answer is ["D","E"]
Explanation
Schizophrenia involves a dysregulation of dopaminergic pathways, leading to positive symptoms like hallucinations and negative symptoms such as avolition. Antipsychotic efficacy is measured by the clinical reduction of psychotic intensity and the restoration of functional capacity, allowing the individual to navigate social and physical environments safely.
Rationale:
A. Assessing access to community agencies evaluates the client's support system and social determinants of health. Although critical for long-term stability, it does not directly measure the physiological or therapeutic efficacy of the antipsychotic medication on the brain's neurochemistry or symptom profile.
B. Quality of life is a subjective measure of well-being and life satisfaction. Although antipsychotics can improve overall functioning, this question is too broad to isolate the specific pharmacological impact on the core psychotic symptoms that the medication is designed to target.
C. Commitment to a drug regimen measures adherence and motivation rather than the medication's actual effectiveness. A client may be highly compliant with their prescription even if the drug is failing to provide therapeutic relief from their auditory hallucinations or delusions.
D. The primary goal of antipsychotics is the remission of positive symptoms. Asking if symptoms have disappeared is a direct way for the nurse to evaluate the potency of the current dosage and the drug's success in blocking dopamine receptors in the mesolimbic pathway.
E. Many clients experience residual symptoms despite optimal pharmacotherapy. Evaluating the ability to maintain functioning despite persistent symptoms is a sophisticated measure of therapeutic success, indicating that the medication has reduced symptom severity enough to permit activities of daily living.
Correct Answer is C
Explanation
Bereavement is a complex biopsychosocial response to the loss of a significant attachment figure. Therapeutic communication during the acute phase of grief focuses on empathetic presence and the use of open-ended techniques that validate the client's emotional reality without utilizing platitudes or premature reassurance.
Rationale:
A. Telling a client that each day will get better is a cliché that dismisses the depth of their current pain. Such non-therapeutic statements can make the client feel misunderstood or pressured to recover quickly, effectively closing off further communication about their feelings of despair.
B. Focusing on the fact that the spouse is no longer suffering shifts the attention away from the client's internal experience. This response attempts to rationalize the death, which is often ineffective during the early stages of mourning when the client is struggling with attachment loss.
C. This response utilizes validation and empathy to acknowledge the client's subjective experience. By labeling the event as a terrible loss, the nurse demonstrates active listening and provides a supportive environment that encourages the client to continue expressing their grief.
D. Suggesting that friends will help deflects the nurse's responsibility to provide immediate support. It provides false comfort by assuming the client's social network is adequate, and it fails to address the immediate emotional crisis the client is experiencing in the clinical setting.
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