Which statement describes the focus of psychiatric emergency care?

Choice A Reason:

To provide support for the patient is not appropriate. While providing support is important in therapeutic communication, the nurse's statement is more focused on bringing attention to an inconsistency rather than offering direct emotional support.

Choice B Reason:

To redirect the patient to an important idea is not appropriate. The nurse's statement is not aimed at redirecting the patient to a specific idea. Instead, it's about highlighting a potential incongruence between the patient's verbal and nonverbal expressions.

Choice C Reason:

To provide a suggestion for coping strategies is not appropriate. The nurse's statement is not directly offering suggestions for coping strategies. It is more focused on helping the patient recognize and explore the discrepancy in their expressed emotions.

Choice D Reasons:

To bring inconsistencies into awareness is appropriate. This therapeutic communication technique is aimed at helping the patient recognize and explore any inconsistencies between their verbal and nonverbal expressions. By pointing out the discrepancy between the patient's statement of feeling sad and the observed behavior of smiling, the nurse encourages the patient to reflect on and explore their emotions more deeply. This can contribute to increased self-awareness and a better understanding of the patient's emotional state.

Choice A Reason:

Triage and stabilization of the acute symptoms are a priority describes the focus of psychiatric emergency care. Psychiatric emergency care focuses on the rapid assessment, triage, and stabilization of individuals experiencing acute psychiatric symptoms or crises. The primary goal is to address immediate safety concerns, stabilize the individual's condition, and determine the appropriate level of care or intervention. This may involve crisis intervention, brief assessment, and referral to appropriate services.

Choice B Reason:

A nurse visits one to three times a week to assess for extreme agitation does not describe the focus of psychiatric emergency care. This describes a more routine or outpatient assessment schedule rather than the urgent and immediate focus of psychiatric emergency care.

Choice C Reason:

Overnight short-term observations are 1 to 3 days in duration does not describe the focus of psychiatric emergency care. This refers to a short-term observation period, which might occur in various psychiatric settings, but it does not specifically address the urgency of psychiatric emergencies.

Choice D Reason:

Antipsychotic medications are administered does not describe the focus of psychiatric emergency care. Administering antipsychotic medications is a treatment approach that may be part of the overall psychiatric care plan, but it does not specifically capture the immediate triage and stabilization focus of psychiatric emergency care.