A geriatric nurse practitioner prescribes an antidepressant for a ...

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A geriatric nurse practitioner prescribes an antidepressant for a patient.
 
  The patient asks, How long will I have to be on this medication before I feel like my old self? The nurse recalls that a therapeutic response to an antidepressant medication most often takes which one of the follow-ing? a. 24 hours c. 2 weeks
  b. 2 days d. 2 months

Question 2

An older female adult is brain dead and the attorney-in-fact, or surrogate, named in her durable power of attorney (DPA) is opposed to organ donation; the law in the state allows a surrogate with DPA to make end-of-life decisions.
 
  Although she failed to document it, her family states that she wanted to donate her organs. Given the law about DPA, what does the nurse expect the surrogate to do? a. Deny consent
  b. Provide consent
  c. Refuse to decide
  d. Get second opinion

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Answer to Question 1

D
One to 2 months may be necessary to achieve a maximal response to therapy. Both 24 hours and 2 days are too short of timeframes to have a response to therapy. Patients often have an initial response to therapy 1 to 3 weeks after starting the medication.

Answer to Question 2

B

Feedback
A Incorrect. It is against the law and unethical for the DPA for this older adult to deny consent for organ harvesting.
B Correct. A DPA acts at the pleasure of the designator, can manage the designa-tor's finances, and functions as the designators health care surrogate, making judgments for the designator using substituted judgment when the designator is unable to do so. Thus, in accordance with the law and the woman's wishes ac-cording to her family, the surrogate should provide consent for organ harvesting.
C Incorrect. Because the attorney-in-fact named in the DPA is her health care sur-rogate, the attorney-in-fact must make a decision on behalf of the women and cannot refuse.
D Incorrect. The attorney-in-fact can get another opinion on the older adult's neu-rological status but not as a way to avoid the decision about organ harvesting.