The nurse is caring for a 2-year-old child on a pediatric unit. ...

[laurencescou]

The nurse is caring for a 2-year-old child on a pediatric unit. The child's parents have just left the unit for the night. The child is standing at the edge of the crib and crying.
 
  Which of the following interventions is most appropriate for the nurse to use?
 
  a. Limit the use of kinesthetic approaches when caring for the child.
  b. Talk to the child about Mommy and Daddy and how much the child cares for them.
  c. Maintain a flat affect when interacting with the child.
  d. At first maintain a distance of 8 feet from the child.

Question 2

Which of the following is true in relation to the stress of having an ill child?
 
  a. Coping with uncertainty over the outcome is the most stressful factor for parents.
  b. Factors connected with the child's illness causes more stress than alleviation of the child's pain.
  c. Uncertainty about a critically ill child's current condition is considered to be a minor source of stress.
  d. The parents' inability to comfort the child is more stressful than factors connected with the illness.

[ricroger]

Answer to Question 1

ANS: B
Handling separation anxiety when the primary caregiver is absent includes establishing rapport with the caregiver (parent) and encouraging them to be with the child and reassuring the child that staff will be there if they are away. At first the nurse should keep at least 2 feet between herself and the infant. The nurse should talk to and touch the infant and initially smile often. The nurse should provide for kinesthetic approaches; offer self while infant is protesting (e.g., stay with the child; pick the child up and rock or walk; talk to the child about Mommy and Daddy and how much the child cares for them).

Answer to Question 2

ANS: D
Having an ill child is stressful for parents. Many research studies have shown that loss of the ability to act as the child's parent, to alleviate the child's pain, and to comfort the child is more stressful than factors connected with the illness, including coping with uncertainty over the outcome. Major sources of stress for parents of critically ill children include uncertainty about current condition or prognosis, lack of control, and lack of knowledge about how to best help their hospitalized child or how to deal with their child's response.