Which of the following statements, made by a nurse regarding the ...

[awywial]

Which of the following statements, made by a nurse regarding the means by which older adults usually express and manage grief, reflects a need for further instruction and clarification?
 
  1. The greater the loss the greater the sense of grief.
  2. Managing depression will help the grieving adult cope.
  3. Having lived a long, happy life makes grieving easier to deal with.
  4. The longer you live, the more experience you have with grieving a death.

Question 2

A terminally ill client is reporting a sense of anxiety and dyspnea. The nurse's initial intervention is to:
 
  1. Assess the client's vital signs and administer the prescribed antianxiety medica-tion
  2. Determine the cause of the client's dyspnea and provide both emotional and physical support
  3. Position the client in a semi-Fowler's position and provide supplemental oxygen via nasal cannula
  4. Remain with the client and encourage him to express the concerns he is experi-encing regarding his death

[scrocafella]

Answer to Question 1

ANS: 3
There is little evidence that grief experiences differ due to age alone. Responses to loss are more likely related to the nature of the specific loss experience. Increased age increases the likelihood that older adults have faced multiple lossesloved ones, friends, valued objects, outliving a child, or declining health. Depression does make dealing with grief more difficult.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: 3
Position for comfort and maximal respiratory excursion, provide supplemental O2. Then provide comforting, reduce anxiety or fever; provide effective pain management as appropriate. The ini-tial intervention when a client is experiencing respiratory difficulties, no matter what the potential cause it to facilitate breathing through appropriate positioning and administration of oxygen.