Author Question: A young adult male patient diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer tells the nurse that if he lets ... (Read 114 times)

biggirl4568 · **on:** Jun 25, 2018

A young adult male patient diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer tells the nurse that if he lets his hair grow, God will cure him. What should the nurse realize this patient is demonstrating?

Select all that apply.
1. The patient is having delusions and is using religious beliefs to block his loss.
2. The patient is bargaining and is postponing his loss.
3. The patient is in denial, and his religious beliefs block his loss.
4. The patient is normal; bargaining with God for physical healing reflects a stage of grieving.
5. The patient is feeling anger and is using his religious beliefs to project his loss.

Question 2

A patient who had a below-the-knee amputation 2 months ago is seen walking with a new limb prosthesis and returning to work. What does the nurse realize about this patient?

1. The patient has completed the work of mourning the loss of the leg.
2. The patient is having difficulty with grief.
3. The patient is in denial.
4. The patient is forgetting about the disease that caused the loss of the limb.

ultraflyy23 · **Reply #1 on:** Jun 25, 2018

Answer to Question 1

Correct Answer: 2,4

Bargaining is one stage within Kbler-Ross's stages of grieving in which the person makes a bargain with God and expresses the willingness to do anything to postpone the reality of the loss or change the prognosis. The patient is not delusional or in denial and is not using religious beliefs to block the loss. Bargaining with God is not a demonstration of anger.

Answer to Question 2

Correct Answer: 1

In one theory of the process of loss, the person gradually withdraws attachment to the lost object or person. The period of mourning, or work of mourning, ends and the person reaches a state of completion. This is the time when the patient may be ready to move on and make a change such as using a prosthesis or return to activities they were involved in before the loss. The patient's actions indicate a positive adaptation, not an inability to manage grief. Denial is manifested by behaviors or statements indicating the patient cannot believe the event has occurred. There is inadequate information provided to infer the patient has forgotten about the disease which caused the loss of the limb. Further, forgetting an event of this magnitude is extremely unlikely.