Chapter 43 :loss, grief, and dying

11. A premature infant with serious respiratory problems has been in the neonatal intensive care unit for the last 3 months. The infant's parents also have a 22-month-old son at home. The nurse's assessment data for the parents include chronic fatigue and decreased energy, guilt about neglecting the son at home, shortness of temper with one another, and apprehension about their continued ability to go on this way. What human response would be appropriate for the nurse to document? a. Grieving b. Ineffective Coping c. Caregiver Role Strain d. Powerlessness

c. The defining characteristics for the NANDA diagnosis Caregiver Role Strain fit the set of assessment data provided. The other diagnoses do not fit the assessment data.

A client with end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has reached the end of the 6-month period for hospice services and the family caregiver states, "I don't know what we will do if they cut off our hospice services." What is the best response by the hospice nurse? "Unfortunately, we are unable to continue services past the 6 month period of time." "I will contact the health care provider to extend services since your family member meets the criteria." "We can discontinue the service for a period of time and then when your family member gets worse, readmit them." "We can admit your family member to the hospital for treatment and they can reinstate the hospice benefits."

"I will contact the health care provider to extend services since your family member meets the criteria." Hospice care is generally provided to clients that have 6 months or less to live, although they are not automatically discharged when they reach 6 months after having been admitted to hospice care. The client may still receive care as long as the health care provider certifies that the client continues to meet the criteria for hospice services. The client should not be admitted to the hospital since the acceptance of palliative comfort care is required to qualify for hospice services. Based on the provided information, there is no need to admit the client to the hospital, and hospital admission may result in termination from the program due to the provision of non-palliative care.

When preparing for palliative care with the dying client, the nurse should provide the family with which explanation? "The goal of palliative care is to give clients the best quality of life by the aggressive management of symptoms." "In palliative care, no attempts are to be made to resuscitate a client whose breathing or heart stops." "Palliative care is the gradual withdrawal of mechanical ventilation from a client with terminal illness and poor prognosis." "The client will have to go to an inpatient hospice unit in order to receive palliative care."

"The goal of palliative care is to give clients the best quality of life by the aggressive management of symptoms." Palliative care involves taking care of the body, mind, spirit, heart, and soul. It views dying as something natural and personal. The goal of palliative care is to give patients with life-threatening illnesses the best quality of life they can have by the aggressive management of symptoms. A do-not-resuscitate order means that no attempts are to be made to resuscitate a client whose breathing or heart stops. Gradual withdrawal of mechanical ventilation from a client with a terminal illness and poor prognosis is called terminal weaning. Clients do not have to be in an inpatient hospice unit to receive palliative care.

A client comes to the hospital because of complications related to newly diagnosed terminal cancer. The client is concerned about how his wife is coping with the diagnosis. Which information is important for the nurse to obtain to assess factors that may affect the family member's grief? Select all that apply. Financial concerns Cultural practices Religious beliefs Social support Previous relationships

Financial concerns Cultural practices Religious beliefs Social support Many factors, including socioeconomic position, cultural and religious influences, and social support affect a person's reaction to, and expression of, grief. The socioeconomic position is the financial elements and how it affects treatment. Cultural and religious influences may impact the client and client's wife ability to belong to a larger entity and have empathy with others. Social support also provides empathy for the client and client's wife. Like the stages of grief reaction, these factors vary from person to person. Previous relationships may be a part of healing and working through the stages of grief but it is not important for the assessment.

A client in a long-term care facility has signed a form stating that he does not want to be resuscitated. He develops an upper respiratory infection that progresses to pneumonia. His health rapidly deteriorates, and he is no longer competent. The client's family states that they want everything possible done for the client. What should happen in this case? The client should be resuscitated if he experiences respiratory arrest. The client should be treated with antibiotics for pneumonia. The wishes of his family should be followed. Pharmacologic interventions should not be initiated.

The client should be treated with antibiotics for pneumonia. The client has signed a document indicating a wish not to be resuscitated. Treating the pneumonia with antibiotics is not a resuscitation measure. The other options do not respect the client's right to choice.

10. A nurse is preparing a family for a terminal weaning of a loved one. Which nursing actions would facilitate this process? Select all that apply. a. Participate in the decision-making process by offering the family information about the advantages and disadvantages of continued ventilatory support. b. Explain to the family what will happen at each phase of the weaning and offer support. c. Check the orders for sedation and analgesia, making sure that the anticipated death is comfortable and dignified. d. Tell the family that death will occur almost immediately after the patient is removed from the ventilator. e. Tell the family that the decision for terminal weaning of a patient must be made by the primary care provider. f. Set up mandatory counseling sessions for the patient and family to assist them in making this end-of-life decision.

a, b, c. A nurse's role in terminal weaning is to participate in the decision-making process by offering helpful information about the benefits and burdens of continued ventilation and a description of what to expect if terminal weaning is initiated. Supporting the patient's family and managing sedation and analgesia are critical nursing responsibilities. In some cases, competent patients decide that they wish their ventilatory support ended; more often, the surrogate decision makers for an incompetent patient determine that continued ventilatory support is futile. Because there are no guarantees how any patient will respond once removed from a ventilator, and because it is possible for the patient to breathe on his or her own and live for hours, days, and, rarely, even weeks, the family should not be told that death will occur immediately. Counseling sessions may be arranged if requested but are not mandatory to make this decision.

1. A nurse midwife is assisting a patient who is firmly committed to natural childbirth to deliver a full-term baby. A cesarean delivery becomes necessary when the fetus displays signs of distress. Inconsolable, the patient cries and calls herself a failure as a mother. The nurse notes that the patient is experiencing what type of loss? Select all that apply. a. Actual b.Perceived c. Psychological d. Anticipatory e. Physical f. Maturational

a, b, c. The losses experienced by the woman are actual, perceived, and psychological. Actual loss can be recognized by others as well as by the person sustaining the loss; perceived loss is experienced by the person but is intangible to others; and psychological loss is a loss that is felt mentally as opposed to physically. Anticipatory loss occurs when one grieves prior to the actual loss; physical loss is loss that is tangible and perceived by others; and maturational loss is experienced as a result of natural developmental processes.

2. A nurse who cared for a dying patient and his family documents that the family is experiencing a period of mourning. Which behaviors would the nurse expect to see at this stage? Select all that apply. a. The family arranges for a funeral for their loved one. b. The family arranges for a memorial scholarship for their loved one. c. The coroner pronounces the patient's death. d. The family arranges for hospice for their loved one. e. The patient is diagnosed with terminal cancer. f. The patient's daughter writes a poem expressing her sorrow.

a, b, f. Mourning is defined as the period of acceptance of loss and grief, during which the person learns to deal with loss. It is the actions and expressions of that grief, including the symbols and ceremonies (e.g., a funeral or final celebration of life), that make up the outward expressions of grief. A diagnosis of cancer and the coroner's pronouncing the patient's death are not behaviors of the family during a period of mourning. Arranging for hospice care would not be an expression of mourning.

13. A nurse is providing postmortem care. Which nursing action violates the standards of caring for the body after a patient has been pronounced dead and is not scheduled for an autopsy? a. The nurse leaves the patient in a sitting position while the family visits. b. The nurse places identification tags on both the shroud and the ankle. c. The nurse removes soiled dressings and tubes. d. The nurse makes sure a death certificate is issued and signed.

a. Because the body should be placed in normal anatomic position to avoid pooling of blood, leaving the body in a sitting position is contraindicated. The other actions are appropriate nursing responsibilities related to postmortem care.

15. A 70-year-old patient who has had a number of strokes refuses further life-sustaining interventions, including artificial nutrition and hydration. She is competent, understands the consequences of her actions, is not depressed, and persists in refusing treatment. Her health care provider is adamant that she cannot be allowed to die this way, and her daughter agrees. An ethics consult has been initiated. Who would be the appropriate decision maker? a. The patient b. The patient's daughter c. The patient's health care provider d. The ethics consult team

a. Because this patient is competent, she has the right to refuse therapy that she finds to be disproportionately burdensome, even if this hastens her death. Neither her daughter nor her doctor has the authority to assume her decision-making responsibilities unless she asks them to do this. The ethics consult team is not a decision-making body; it can make recommendations but has no authority to order anything.

8. A hospice nurse is caring for a patient who is terminally ill and who is on a ventilator. After a restless night, the patient hands the nurse a note with the request: "Please help me end my suffering." Which response by a nurse would best reflect adherence to the position of the American Nurses Association (ANA) regarding assisted suicide? a. The nurse promises the patient that he or she will do everything possible to keep the patient comfortable but cannot administer an injection or overdose to cause the patient's death. b. The nurse tells the patient that under no condition can he be removed from the ventilator because this is active euthanasia and is expressly forbidden by the Code for Nurses. c. After exhausting every intervention to keep a dying patient comfortable, the nurse says, "I think you are now at a point where I'm prepared to do what you've been asking me. Let's talk about when and how you want to die." d. The nurse responds: "I'm personally opposed to assisted suicide, but I'll find you a colleague who can help you."

a. The ANA Code of Ethics states that the nurse "should provide interventions to relieve pain and other symptoms in the dying patient consistent with palliative care practice standards and may not act with the sole intent to end life" (2015, p. 3). Yet, nurses may be confronted by patients who seek assistance in ending their lives and must be prepared to respond to the request: "Nurse, please help me die...."

9. A patient diagnosed with breast cancer who is in the end stages of her illness has been in the medical intensive care unit for 3 weeks. Her husband tells the nurse that he and his wife often talked about the end of her life and that she was very clear about not wanting aggressive treatment that would merely prolong her dying. The nurse could suggest that the husband speak to his wife's health care provider about which type of order? a. Comfort Measures Only b. Do Not Hospitalize c. Do Not Resuscitate d. Slow Code Only

a. The nurse could suggest that the husband speak to the health care provider about a Comfort Measures Only order. The wife would want all aggressive treatment to be stopped at this point, and all care to be directed to a comfortable, dignified death. A Do Not Hospitalize order is often used for patients in long-term care and other residential settings who have elected not to be hospitalized for further aggressive treatment. A Do Not Resuscitate order means that no attempts are to be made to resuscitate a patient whose breathing or heart stops. A Slow Code means that calling a code and resuscitating the patient are to be delayed until these measures will be ineffectual. Many health care institutions have policies forbidding this, and a nurse could be charged with negligence in the event of a Slow Code and resulting patient death.

4. A home health care nurse has been visiting a patient with AIDS who says, "I'm no longer afraid of dying. I think I've made my peace with everyone, and I'm actually ready to move on." This reflects the patient's progress to which stage of death and dying? a. Acceptance b. Anger c. Bargaining d. Denial

a. The patient's statement reflects the acceptance stage of death and dying defined by Kübler-Ross.

7. A patient tells a nurse that he would like to appoint his daughter to make decisions for him should he become incapacitated. What should the nurse suggest he prepare? a. POLST form b. Durable power of attorney for health care c. Living will d. Allow Natural Death (AND) form

b. A durable power of attorney for health care appoints an agent the person trusts to make decisions in the event of subsequent incapacity. Living wills provide specific instructions about the kinds of health care that should be provided or foregone in particular situations. A Physician Order for Life-Sustaining Treatment form, or POLST form, is a medical order indicating a patient's wishes regarding treatments commonly used in a medical crisis. The living will is a document whose precise purpose is to allow people to record specific instructions about the type of health care they would like to receive in particular end-of-life situations. Allow natural death on the medical record of a patient indicates the patient or surrogate has expressed a wish that there be no attempts to resuscitate the patient.

12. A nurse is caring for terminally ill patients in a hospital setting. Which nursing action describes appropriate end-of-life care? a. To eliminate confusion, the nurse takes care not to speak too much when caring for a comatose patient. b. The nurse sits on the side of the bed of a dying patient, holding the patient's hand, and crying with the patient. c. The nurse refers to a counselor the daughter of a dying patient who is complaining about the care associated with artificially feeding her father. d. The nurse tells a dying patient to sit back and relax and performs patient hygiene for the patient because it is easier than having the patient help.

b. The nurse should not be afraid to show compassion and empathy for the dying person, including crying with the patient if it occurs. The sense of hearing is believed to be the last sense to leave the body, and many patients retain a sense of hearing almost to the moment of death; therefore, nurses should explain to the comatose patient the nursing care being given. The nurse should address caregiver role endurance by actively listening to family members. Because it is good to encourage dying patients to be as active as possible for as long as possible, it is generally not good practice to perform basic self-care measures the patient can perform simply because it is "easier" to do it this way.

5. A nurse is visiting a patient with pancreatic cancer who is dying at home. During the visit, he breaks down and cries, and tells the nurse that it is unfair that he should have to die now when he's finally made peace with his family. Which response by the nurse would be most appropriate? a. "You can't be feeling this way. You know you are going to die." b. "It does seem unfair. Tell me more about how you are feeling." c. "You'll be all right; who knows how much time any of us has." d. "Tell me about your pain. Did it keep you awake last night?"

b. This response by the nurse validates that what the patient is saying has been heard and invites him to share more of his feelings, concerns, and fears. The other responses either deny the patient's feelings or change the subject.

6. A nurse is caring for a terminally ill patient during the 11 PM to 7 AM shift. The patient says, "I just can't sleep. I keep thinking about what my family will do when I am gone." What response by the nurse would be most appropriate? a. "Oh, don't worry about that now. You need to sleep. b. ""What seems to be concerning you the most?" c. "I have talked to your wife and she told me she will be fine." d. "I'm not qualified to advise you, I suggest you discuss this with your wife."

b. Using an open-ended question allows the patient to continue talking. An open-ended question, such as, "What seems to be concerning you the most?" provides a means of encouraging communication. False reassurances are not helpful. Also, the patient's feelings and restlessness should be addressed as soon as possible.

3. A nurse interviews an 82-year-old resident of a long-term care facility who says that she has never gotten over the death of her son 20 years ago. She reports that her life fell apart after that and she never again felt like herself or was able to enjoy life. What type of grief is this woman experiencing? a. Somatic grief b. Anticipatory grief c. Unresolved grief d.Inhibited grief

c. Dysfunctional grief is abnormal or distorted; it may be either unresolved or inhibited. In unresolved grief, a person may have trouble expressing feelings of loss or may deny them; unresolved grief also describes a state of bereavement that extends over a lengthy period. With inhibited grief, a person suppresses feelings of grief and may instead manifest somatic (body) symptoms, such as abdominal pain or heart palpitations. Somatic grief is not a classification of grief, rather somatic symptoms are the expression of grief that may occur with inhibited grief. Anticipatory loss or grief occurs when a person displays loss and grief behaviors for a loss that has yet to take place.

14. The family of a patient who has just died asks to be alone with the body and asks for supplies to wash the body. The nurse providing care knows that the mortician usually washes the body. Which response would be most appropriate? a. Inform the family that there is no need for them to wash the body since the mortician typically does this. b. Explain that hospital policy forbids their being alone with the deceased patient and that hospital supplies are to be used only by hospital personnel. c. Give the supplies to the family but maintain a watchful eye to make sure that nothing unusual happens. d. Provide the requested supplies, checking if this request is linked to their religious or cultural customs and asking if there is anything else you can do to help.

d. The family may want to wash the body for personal, religious, or cultural reasons and should be allowed to do so.