A nurse is assisting a patient with a life review. What action by ...

[audragclark]

A nurse is assisting a patient with a life review. What action by the nurse is best?
 
  a. Ask the patient what his or her job was.
  b. Ask about memories the patient is proud of.
  c. Ask the patient about special holiday foods.
  d. Ask the patient to name children and grandchildren.

Question 2

The nurse is caring for an older adult who reports severe chronic pain. To best assess age-related physiologic changes that could influence plans for initiating an appropriate drug regimen, the nurse prepares the patient for which laboratory evaluation?
 
  a. White blood count
  b. Glomerular filtration rate
  c. Serum complement level
  d. Electroencephalogra m

[tsternbergh47]

Answer to Question 1

B
During the life review, if patients can see that their lives were meaningful and worth living, then a sense of ego integrity emerges. The nurse can best assist this by asking the patient to relate memories that evoke pride in accomplishments. The other topics can be used to guide a life re-view but are too narrow in focus to be the best answer.

Answer to Question 2

B
Many drugs are renally excreted, and there are age-related reductions in renal function. The nurse wanting to assess for such factors that influence the selection of drugs would most likely anticipate the patient having renal function studies done, including an evaluation of the patient's glomerular filtration rate.