Deck 18: Communicating With Children

Question 1

When assessing a child's reaction to illness, it is important for the nurse to

A) observe the interaction between parent and child.
B) recognize that chronological age matches cognitive level.
C) realize that children are more comfortable with female health care providers.
D) recognize that the child's behavior will be age appropriate.

Answer 1

observe the interaction between parent and child.

Question 2

A school-aged child is admitted to the hospital because of an accident during gymnastics. The child complains of not feeling her legs. The child's parents ask the nurse, "What is going to happen to our daughter? Will she walk again?" The best response by the nurse is

A) "I'm sure everything will be okay. She is in good hands."
B) "The best thing you can do for your child is to act like everything is alright."
C) "You will have to ask the doctor; he is in surgery right now."
D) "You must have several fears and concerns. We will let you know the test results as soon as they are available."

Answer 2

"You must have several fears and concerns. We will let you know the test results as soon as they are available."

Question 3

When caring for a preschooler, the nurse understands that this child tends to interpret language in a literal way and that the child will not ask for clarification, leading to a misunderstanding of messages. The nurse recognizes a preschooler is in which of Piaget's cognitive stages of development?

A) Concrete operations
B) Formal operations
C) Preoperational
D) Sensorimotor

Answer 3

Preoperational

Question 4

Which of the following is true in relation to the stress of having an ill child?

A) Coping with uncertainty over the outcome is the most stressful factor for parents.
B) Factors connected with the child's illness causes more stress than alleviation of the child's pain.
C) Uncertainty about a critically ill child's current condition is considered to be a minor source of stress.
D) The parents' inability to comfort the child is more stressful than factors connected with the illness.

Question 5

The nurse is caring for a 2-year-old child on a pediatric unit. The child's parents have just left the unit for the night. The child is standing at the edge of the crib and crying. Which of the following interventions is most appropriate for the nurse to use?

A) Limit the use of kinesthetic approaches when caring for the child.
B) Talk to the child about Mommy and Daddy and how much the child cares for them.
C) Maintain a flat affect when interacting with the child.
D) At first maintain a distance of 8 feet from the child.

Question 6

A pediatric nurse is educating parents about how children cope with hospitalization. Which of the following statements by the nurse is correct?

A) "The quiet, compliant child who never complains is comfortable on the nursing unit."
B) "The child who screams and cries is much more frightened of hospitalization than the quiet child."
C) "The 2-year-old child who asks for a bedtime bottle is showing signs of regression."
D) "The child who screams and cries may be less frightened than the quiet, overly compliant child who never complains."

Question 7

When admitting an adolescent to a hospital unit, the nurse knows she should keep in mind which of the following?

A) The nurse should use the "three wishes" question to assess cognitive level.
B) When a teen asks a direct question, the teen does not really want the answer.
C) Teens recognize that life is a roller-coaster ride with ups and downs.
D) Teens are able to self-assess competency.

Question 8

The nurse is caring for a postoperative preschooler who is crying and has been refusing to eat. The best communication strategy for the nurse to use is to

A) avoid providing the child with simple explanations.
B) assign the child to a different nurse in order to optimize socialization.
C) give the child some clay, crayons, and paper.
D) encourage the child to express complex thoughts and feelings.

Question 9

The nurse is caring for a child with a severe illness who is demonstrating behaviors that are reminiscent of an earlier stage of development. When the child has toileting accidents, the nurse should

A) recommend a urology consult.
B) obtain a urine sample and send it to the lab.
C) reassure the child's parents that this is common.
D) eliminate all fluids after dinner.

Question 10

The pediatric nurse is working on an oncology unit with a terminally ill child. The nurse conveys respect to the child by

A) interacting as a buddy to the child.
B) protecting the child from the truth about the terminal illness.
C) using the concept of mutuality.
D) being emotionally unavailable.

Question 11

During the preoperational period the nurse recognizes that children

A) ask numerous questions to clarify a message.
B) can process auditory information quickly.
C) can clearly distinguish between fantasy and reality.
D) misunderstand messages quite easily.

Question 12

When communicating with hospitalized infants and toddlers, the nurse knows

A) she should use long sentences with soothing words.
B) she cannot communicate with a preverbal infant.
C) moving to the child's eye level and maintaining eye contact are important.
D) she should pick up an 18-month-old infant immediately.

Question 13

When communicating with a preschooler who is admitted to the hospital for a fractured arm, which is the best method for the nurse to describe the preschooler's impending surgery?

A) Encourage the preschooler to put a bandage on a teddy bear's arm.
B) Explain what surgery will be like, using abstract terminology.
C) Explain to the preschooler how long the surgery will take and that it will be done by noon.
D) Inform the preschooler that fixing the fractured arm will make it possible to play sports in the future.

Question 14

In mastering QSEN competency of patient-centered care, effective tools need to be

A) cognitive, developmentally appropriate, and educational.
B) cultural, educational, interpersonal, and societal.
C) attitudinal, cognitive, and developmentally appropriate.
D) attitudinal, cultural, and developmentally appropriate.

Question 15

The nurse recognizes that guidelines for developing a workable limit-setting plan include having consequences that are

A) applied after a detailed verbal exchange with the patient.
B) person centered, not situation centered.
C) applied in a matter-of-fact manner, without lengthy discussion.
D) applied at a time negotiated between the nurse and patient.