Mr. Y visits his elderly mother weekly at an assisted living facility 70 miles from his home. Mr. Y has noted that in recent months his mother frequently fixates their conversations on the treatment and prognosis of her various health challenges.
Mr. Y admits to his mother's nurse that as an only child he now feels an overwhelming guilt around the infrequency of his visits, a fact that his mother constantly emphasizes. How can the nurse best respond to Mr. Y's concerns?
A) It's not uncommon for some older people to emphasize their ailments in order to manipulate others' behavior in some way..
B) If your mother's health has become such a priority to her, it may be time to consider placing her in long-term care rather than assisted living..
C) Your best strategy is to ignore anything that your mother says about her failing health and her physical challenges..
D) This is often a sign of an underlying cognitive deficit that remains undiagnosed; I'll be sure to mention this to your mother's physician..
Question 2
An acutely ill patient is in a supine position. What approach should the nurse take to assess the patient's lung fields for a patient in this position?
A) Inform the health care provider that the patient is in a supine position and anticipate an order for a portable chest X-ray.
B) Turn the patient on his or her side to assess all lung fields, so that dependent areas can be assessed for breath sounds.
C) Avoid turning the patient, and assess the accessible breath sounds from the anterior chest wall.
D) Obtain a pulse oximetry reading and, if the reading is low, reposition the patient and auscultate breath sounds.