The nurse is having difficulty communicating with a hospitalized ...

[fagboi]

The nurse is having difficulty communicating with a hospitalized 6-year-old child. What technique may be most helpful?
 
  a. Suggest that the child keep a diary.
  b. Suggest that the parent read fairy tales to the child.
  c. Ask the parent whether the child is always uncommunicative.
  d. Ask the child to draw a picture.

Question 2

The nurse is taking a health history on an adolescent. What best describes how the chief complaint should be determined?
 
  a. Ask for a detailed listing of symptoms.
  b. Ask the adolescent, Why did you come here today?
  c. Use what the adolescent says to determine, in correct medical terminology, what the problem is.
  d. Interview the parent away from the adolescent to determine the chief complaint.

[sailorcrescent]

Answer to Question 1

ANS: D
Drawing is one of the most valuable forms of communication. Children's drawings tell a great deal about them because they are projections of the child's inner self. It would be difficult for a 6-year-old child to keep a diary because the child is most likely learning to read. Reading fairy tales to the child is a passive activity involving the parent and child. It would not facilitate communication with the nurse. The child is in a stressful situation and is probably uncomfortable with strangers, not necessarily uncommunicative.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: B
The chief complaint is the specific reason for the child's visit to the clinic, office, or hospital. Because the adolescent is the focus of the history, this is an appropriate way to determine the chief complaint. A listing of symptoms will make it difficult to determine the chief complaint. The adolescent should be prompted to tell which symptom caused him or her to seek help at this time. The chief complaint is usually written in the words that the parent or adolescent uses to describe the reason for seeking help. The parent and adolescent may be interviewed separately, but the nurse should determine the reason the adolescent is seeking attention at this time.

[fagboi]

Thank you

[sailorcrescent]

No problemo