The nurse is caring for an older adult Native American client who ...

[KWilfred]

The nurse is caring for an older adult Native American client who is experiencing severe chest pain.
 
  The client is accompanied by a tribesman at the insistence of the client. The tribesman tells the nurse that their culture teaches acceptance of death as part of the natural cycle of life and that treatments must be stopped. The client's son insists that his father be treated, and states he feels the tribe's teachings are antiquated. Which action by the nurse is the most appropriate?
  1. Call the social worker to plan a family meeting without the tribesman.
  2. Interview the client and ascertain his wishes and beliefs.
  3. Convene the hospital ethics committee.
  4. Call the nursing supervisor.

Question 2

The nurse is assessing an adolescent client who is fluent in English, participates in high school sports, values riding dirt bikes, and plans to go to college after graduating from high school.
 
  The client's health history indicates birth in China and immigrating to the United States at age 4. When asked where he is from, he says the United States. What does the client's behavior and statements indicate to the nurse?
 
  1. He has no interest in the interview.
  2. He is embarrassed about his ethnicity.
  3. He is assimilated into the American culture.
  4. He wishes to deny his Asian heritage.

[robbielu01]

Answer to Question 1

Correct Answer: 2

The client is an adult and, if capable of expressing his wishes and beliefs, should be encouraged to do so. Sometimes the client must be interviewed alone to be sure the client is actually stating his own wishes and not those of family members who may be present for the interview. Unless an adult is not competent to make and express his own decisions, or is impaired in some way and cannot express his own wishes, then the adult client's wishes are honored over all others who may try to exert influence. It would be inappropriate to call a family meeting, with or without an interested second party, if the client is competent and has not asked for such a meeting. There is, at the moment, no behavior exhibited that would warrant notifying hospital administration, nor is there enough data to ask the hospital ethics committee to render an opinion.

Answer to Question 2

Correct Answer: 3

The teen's answers indicate characteristics and behaviors of the American culture. Often, those who have not assimilated are not fluent in the language of the new culture and do not display certain behaviors and characteristics of the new culture. There is no evidence to support other assumptions, such as that he wishes to deny his heritage, that he is embarrassed about his appearance, or that he is bored with the interview.

[KWilfred]

TYSM

[jomama]

Gracias!