The nurse has been visiting an adolescent with recently acquired ...

[ec501234]

The nurse has been visiting an adolescent with recently acquired tetraplegia. The teen's mother tells the nurse, I'm sick of providing all the care while my husband does whatever he wants to, whenever he wants to do it.
 
  What reaction should be the nurse's initial response?
  a. Refer the mother for counseling.
  b. Listen and reflect the mother's feelings.
  c. Ask the father in private why he does not help.
  d. Suggest ways the mother can get her husband to help.

Question 2

When communicating with other professionals about a child with a chronic illness, what is important for nurses to do?
 
  a. Ask others what they want to know.
  b. Share everything known about the family.
  c. Restrict communication to clinically relevant information.
  d. Recognize that confidentiality is not possible in home care.

[k2629]

Answer to Question 1

ANS: B
It is appropriate for the nurse to reflect with the mother about her feelings, exploring solutions such as an additional home health aide to help care for the child and provide respite for the mother. It is inappropriate for the nurse to agree with the mother that her husband is not helping enough. This judgment is beyond the role of the nurse and can undermine the family relationship. Counseling, if indicated, would be necessary for both parents. A support group for caregivers may be indicated. The nurse should not ask the father in private why he does not help or suggest way the mother can get her husband to help. These interventions are based on the mother's perceptions; the father may have a full-time job and other commitments. The parents may need an unbiased third person to help them through the negotiation of their new parenting responsibilities.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: C
The nurse needs to share, through both oral and written communication, clinically relevant information with other involved health professionals. Asking others what they want to know and sharing everything known about the family are inappropriate measures. Patients have a right to confidentiality. Confidentiality permits the disclosure of information to other health professionals on a need-to-know basis.