An elderly client recognizes the need for help with personal care ...

[WWatsford]

An elderly client recognizes the need for help with personal care at home yet does not want to move to a nursing home or assisted living facility. Which of the following can the nurse do to assist this client?
 
  1. Suggest the client move in with adult children
   2. Remind the client that physical strength will grow weaker at home until a nursing home is required
   3. Recommend a personal care assistant to help with activities of daily living and self-care
   4. Discuss with the physician and determine the client is unable to make decisions and must be admitted to a nursing home immediately

Question 2

The nurse is caring for a client who lost his wife of 43 years 2 years ago. During care, the client asks the nurse to get him a clean shirt and help him shave and comb his hair as he will be visited by a female friend later in the morning.
 
  The nurse determines that the client has met which of the following goals for the grieving client? 1. The client has emotionally moved on with his life.
   2. The client is working through the pain of his wife's death.
   3. The client has accepted his disability by asking the nurse for help.
   4. The client has adjusted to the hospital environment.

[kxciann]

Answer to Question 1

3. Recommend a personal care assistant to help with activities of daily living and self-care

Rationale:
The nurse needs to help strengthen the client's self-esteem. To best do this, the nurse should recommend a personal care assistant to help with activities of daily living and self-care. Suggesting the client move in with children or be admitted to a nursing home does not strengthen the client's feelings of self-worth or a healthy self-concept. Having the physician determine the client is unable to make decisions and admit the client to a nursing home is inappropriate and should not be done.

Answer to Question 2

1. The client has emotionally moved on with his life.

Rationale:
The client has met the goal of moving on with his life demonstrated by the fact that he is planning to see a lady friend and is asking the nurse to help him prepare for the visit. The pain of grief is over at this point or the client would not be interested in company. There is no evidence that the client is disabled or that he has adjusted to the hospital environment.