Answer to Question 1
D
To promote comfort and dignity, the nurse facilitates the enactment of family wishes, rituals, or religious practices related to death and dying. To promote comfort, the gerontological nurse ad-ministers medications as prescribed and avoids restricting analgesic agents to patients, regardless of the setting or the nurse's personal views. Although fostering independence is within the scope of the gerontological nursing practice, the nurse should assess the older adult and family before assuming that he will want or be able to perform self-care. Although hospice can have regular visiting hours, the older adult may need his family at the bedside for comfort, strength, or com-panionship. Thus to provide comfort and promote dignity, the gerontological nurse adapts visit-ing hours to suit the older adult's needs.
Answer to Question 2
D
Macular degeneration is a disease characterized by damage to the central part of the retina that leaves the outer edges of the visual field intact. Presbyopia, a gradual decline in the flexibility of the lens, makes close-up focusing more difficult and is a common age-related change but not a disease. Glaucoma, a disease marked by increased pressure within the eye that potentially leads to optic nerve damage, is the most common cause of blindness in those 65 years of age and older. A cataract is a disease marked by clouding and blurring of the lens.