The nurse is preparing to discharge a patient diagnosed with ...

[luminitza]

The nurse is preparing to discharge a patient diagnosed with anxiety and depression. During evaluation, the nurse determines that which of the patient's outcomes indicate an improvement?
 
  1. The patient reports a decrease in physical symptoms.
  2. The patient is able to verbalize anxiety-causing activities.
  3. The patient is able to stay focused for a limited amount of time.
  4. The patient is sleeping six hours 5 days/week.

Question 2

What is the most important action for the nurse to take when caring for a patient with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) who is performing a ritual?
 
  1. Don't interrupt the ritual.
  2. Teach stress reduction strategies.
  3. Interrupt the ritual.
  4. Teach patient about the disorder.

[Sammyo]

Answer to Question 1

Answer: 4
Explanation: During an evaluation, the nurse determines if the patient's goals and objectives have been fully, partially, or not met at all. Improvement is evaluated by attainment of specific, realistic, and measurable goals. The only answer choice that meets the criteria is the patient sleeping six hours 5 days/week (specific, realistic, and measurable), because patients with depression typically sleep more than 10 hours/day. Reporting a decrease in physical symptoms does not provide a realistic determination of symptoms, nor a measurable time-frame by which the patient should report this decrease. Verbalizing anxiety-causing activities and staying focused for a limited amount of time are not specific, realistic, or measurable goals.

Answer to Question 2

Answer: 1
Explanation: The nurse should not interrupt the ritual because that may cause the patient to start from the beginning. Patient teaching is not the priority for a patient who is performing a ritual.