ATI RN Eating Disorders Assessment

A nurse is caring for a client who has binge-eating disorder. Which of the following client statements should the nurse expect?

"After I binge, I feel so disgusted with myself." Rational: Binge episodes are usually associated with emotional distress and feelings of self-loathing.

A nurse is providing teaching about eating disorders with a group of clients. Which of the following statements should the nurse include?

"Eating disorders affect about 30 million people in the United States." Rational: The nurse should include this statement in the teaching.

A nurse in an outpatient mental health clinic is caring for a client who has bulimia nervosa. A nurse in an outpatient mental health clinic is assessing a client during a follow-up visit. Select the 5 assessment findings that indicate a therapeutic response to the treatment plan.

potassium level ECG report coping skills creatinine level laxative use Rational: When analyzing cues, the nurse should identify that the findings of increased coping skills, an ECG report that reflects a normal sinus rhythm with no ectopic beats, a potassium and creatinine level that are now within the expected reference ranges, and cessation of laxative use are indications that the client is having a therapeutic response to the treatment plan.

A nurse is caring for a client who has an eating disorder. Which of the following client statements should the nurse expect?

"I feel imprisoned by the rules of my eating disorder." Rational: The nurse should expect the client to describe feeling imprisoned by their eating disorder.

A nurse is admitting a client who has bulimia nervosa. Which of the following client statements should the nurse expect?

"I first started purging to reduce weight during my high school wrestling years." Rational: The nurse should expect this statement from the client because taking part in activities or employment that demand a low body weight increases the risk for the onset of an eating disorder.

A nurse is caring for a client who has an eating disorder. Which of the following client statements should the nurse expect about an upcoming holiday party?

"I'll try to come up with excuses for why I cannot make it to the holiday party." Rational: Clients who have an eating disorder typically feel apprehension and fear at the prospect of attending social events involving food. Therefore, the nurse should expect this client to make excuses to avoid attending an upcoming holiday party.

A nurse is teaching a client who has an eating disorder about how to restructure their thoughts related to body image. This is an example of which of the following treatment modalities?

Cognitive behavioral therapy Rational: Cognitive behavioral therapy recognizes the interplay among thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in association with life situations. It focuses on reframing dysfunctional thinking patterns, such as restructuring thoughts related to body image.

A nurse invites a client on the eating disorder unit to a special morning activity as a reward for consuming all their breakfast. The nurse should identify this an example of which of the following treatment models?

Behavioral therapy Rational: The use of reinforcements and a reward system to encourage treatment-enhancing behaviors is an example of behavioral therapy.

A nurse is providing teaching to the family of a child who has bulimia nervosa. The nurse should include that which of the following models explains that eating disorders are influenced by both nature and nurture?

Diathesis-stress model Rational: The diathesis-stress model explains the interplay between nature and nurture in the cause of eating disorders.

A nurse is reviewing the laboratory results of a client who has bulimia nervosa. Which of the following results should the nurse expect?

Elevated pancreatic enzyme levels Rational: The nurse should expect elevated pancreatic enzyme levels for a client who has bulimia nervosa.

A nurse is caring for a client who has bulimia nervosa. Which of the following actions should the nurse plan to take during the working phase of the nurse-client relationship?

Explore client triggers that lead to purging. Rational: The nurse should identify areas that are causing problems for the client, such as triggers that lead to purging, during the working phase of the nurse-client relationship.

A nurse at a community mental health center is caring for a client who has binge-eating disorder. Which of the following should the nurse identify as a manifestation of this condition?

Feelings of powerlessness Rationale: The nurse should expect a client who has a binge-eating disorder to express feelings of powerlessness. Binge-eating disorder is characterized by binge episodes and persons diagnosed with this condition often feel powerlessness, shame, and embarrassment.

A nurse on an inpatient eating disorder unit is caring for a client who has anorexia nervosa. For each potential nursing action, click to specify if the action is indicated or contraindicated for the client.

Observe the client during meals. Help the client to accept that perfection is unrealistic. Allow the client the choice of looking at the scale during weigh-ins. Observe the client for 1 hr following meals. Limit the client's physical activity until an established weight gain has occurred. Rational: When generating solutions and planning care for the client, the nurse should allow the client the choice of looking at the scale during weigh-ins because weigh-ins can be overly stressful for clients who are in the early stages of treatment for an eating disorder. The nurse should also observe the client during mealtime to prevent the client from secretly disposing of food, limit the client's physical activity until an established weight gain has occurred, observe the client for 1 hr following meals, and help the client to accept that perfection is unrealistic.

A nurse is discussing the characteristics of disordered eating with a group of clients who have binge-eating disorder. Which of the following should the nurse include as a characteristic of disordered eating?

Obsessive thoughts about food Rational: The nurse should include that obsessive thoughts about food is a characteristic of disordered eating.

A nurse is planning an in-service for nursing staff about the mortality of eating disorders. Which of the following information should the nurse include?

One out of 10 people who have anorexia nervosa die within 10 years of the onset of the condition. Rational: The nurse should include this information in the in-service.

A nurse is caring for a client who has binge-eating disorder. During which of the following phases of the nurse-client relationship should the nurse ask the client how they would like to be addressed?

Orientation Rational: The nurse should ask the client how they would like to be addressed during the orientation phase of the nurse-client relationship.

A nurse is caring for a client who has anorexia nervosa, restricting subtype. Which of the following findings should the nurse expect?

Patches of hair loss on the scalp Rational: This finding is a manifestation of anorexia nervosa that is caused by malnutrition.

A nurse is caring for a client who has anorexia nervosa. Which of the following personality traits should the nurse expect the client to exhibit?

Perfectionism Rational: Clients who have anorexia nervosa tend to be perfectionistic and ritualistic.

A nurse is admitting a client who has an eating disorder. Which of the following actions should the nurse plan to take during the pre-interaction phase of the nurse-client relationship?

Perform a self-reflection activity. Rational: The nurse should plan to perform a self-reflection activity during the pre-interaction phase of the nurse-client relationship because this will increase the nurse's awareness of any biases or personal feelings that might interfere with client care.

A nurse is contributing to the plan of care for a client who has bulimia nervosa and borderline personality disorder. Which of the following should the nurse recommend including in the plan of care?

Schedule weekly staff meetings to discuss care planning. Rational: Weekly team meetings will support continuity of care and help manage challenging situations involved with caring for the client.

A nurse is caring for a child whose parent is concerned about their eating behavior. Which of the following behaviors is an indication of pica?

The child pretends to make pies out of mud and eats them. Rational: Pica involves eating items that are inedible or not typically thought of as food and that do not contain significant nutritional value, such as hair, dirt, clay, and paint chips.

A nurse is discussing the causes of eating disorders during a multidisciplinary health care team meeting. Which of the following statements explains the relationship between culture and eating disorders?

The rate of eating disorders is higher in countries where being thin is valued. Rational: Eating disorders have a higher prevalence in countries where there is a strong emphasis placed upon being thin and physically fit.

A nurse is planning to provide care to a client who has an eating disorder. Which of the following principles should the nurse use to guide their actions?

Therapeutic relationships are the cornerstone of psychiatric nursing care. Rational: The nurse should use this principle to guide their actions because the therapeutic relationship is the basis of all mental health nursing.

A nurse in a mental health facility is caring for a client who has an eating disorder. Complete the following sentence by using the lists of options.

dysrhythmias; potassium level Rational: Upon collecting data from the client and analyzing the client's laboratory findings, the nurse's priority hypothesis is that the client is experiencing anorexia nervosa. The nurse should determine that the client is at greatest risk of developing dysrhythmias as evidenced by the client's potassium level, which is below the expected reference range. The client's potassium level of 2.9 mEq/L is a critical value that should be reported to the provider immediately.