Exam 25: Care for the Dying and Those Who Grieve

A terminally ill patient tells the nurse, "Life has been good. I am proud of my education. I overcame adversity with willpower. I always gave my best and expected things to turn out well. I intend to die as I lived: optimistically." The nurse planning care for this patient recognizes a critical need to:

A child drowned while swimming in a local lake four years ago. Which behavior indicates that the parents are effectively coping with their loss? The parents:

Which actions by a nurse contribute to protecting the rights of patients who are terminally ill? (Select all that apply.)

Children of a widowed parent confer with the nurse; their surviving parent repeatedly relates the details of finding the deceased parent not breathing, performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation, going to the hospital by ambulance, and seeing the pronouncement of death. The family asks, "What can we do?" The nurse should counsel the family:

Shortly after a man's wife dies, the man approaches the nurse who cared for his wife during her final hours of life and says angrily, "If you had given your undivided attention, she would still be alive." Which analysis applies?

After the death of his wife, a man tells the nurse, "I can't live without her. She was my whole life." Which is the nurse's most therapeutic reply?

A nurse counsels a person whose spouse recently died. The nurse uses cheer and humor to lift the person's spirits. At one point, the widowed person smiles briefly. What analysis of this scenario is correct?

A widow grieving her husband's sudden and unexpected death tells the nurse, "I'm not feeling well. Yesterday, I saw my husband walk through the door, stop, and smile at me. Then he just faded away." Which is the nurse's most appropriate action?

The mourning process is more difficult when the bereaved:

Which finding indicates the successful completion of an individual's grieving process?