Deck 16: Communication in Stressful Situations

Question 1

A patient's spouse becomes anxious and demonstrates hostility toward the nurse. The best response by the nurse is to

A) recognize the spouse feels a sense of control.
B) view the hostility as a personal attack.
C) become stoic and refrain from listening to the spouse.
D) respond empathetically to contributory themes and feelings.

Answer 1

respond empathetically to contributory themes and feelings.

Question 2

The nurse is caring for a patient who works as a boxer. The patient states, "I was picked on a lot when I was little, so I got really angry and now I work through the anger by boxing." The nurse recognizes the patient is demonstrating which ego defense mechanism?

A) Denial
B) Intellectualization
C) Sublimation
D) Repression

Answer 2

Sublimation

Question 3

A patient tells the nurse, "I think I'm losing my mind." The best response by the nurse is

A) "Tell me what you are experiencing right now."
B) "You should take a nap now; it will help you to feel better."
C) "If you say that you're losing mind, you really will lose your mind."
D) "I don't think you really feel that you are losing your mind."

Answer 3

"Tell me what you are experiencing right now."

Question 4

Current research suggests that men and women respond to stress in which of the following ways?

A) Men use nurturing activities to reduce stress.
B) Women use a "tend and befriend" approach to stress.
C) Men and women respond to stress in a similar manner.
D) Women respond to stress with patterns of "fight or flight."

Question 5

A three-stage progressive pattern of nonspecific physiologic responses known as alarm, resistance, and exhaustion is based on

A) Cannon's scientific physiologic response theory.
B) Selye's General Adaptation Syndrome.
C) Holmes and Rahe's stimuli stress model.
D) Lazarus and Folkman's transactional model of stress.

Question 6

Which of the following is true in relation to stress?

A) Men and women respond to stress in the same fashion.
B) Culture does not affect the stress experience.
C) Stress is always a negative experience.
D) Stress can have protective and adaptive functions.

Question 7

A nurse consistently works extra shifts in the hope of earning a promotion. The nurse is becoming increasingly fatigued and frustrated because the promotion has not occurred. The nurse is experiencing

A) distress.
B) burnout.
C) eustress.
D) primary appraisal.

Question 8

A patient is experiencing anxiety related to hospitalization. When assessing this patient, the nurse anticipates which assessment finding?

A) Increased socialization
B) Improved sleep
C) Greater recall ability
D) Disengagement from the stressor

Question 9

A short-term mild level of stress that acts as a positive stress response with protective and adaptive functions and is perceived as being within the person's ability to manage is known as

A) stress.
B) eustress.
C) stressor.
D) distress.

Question 10

The nurse is conducting a family assessment in which alcoholism by the parents is suspected. When assessing the children within this family for symptoms of stress, the nurse recognizes that

A) the children will most likely verbalize their feelings about the stressor.
B) the children will demonstrate the ability to sort out the meaning of the illness.
C) signs of distress can include academic decline, gastric distress, and headaches.
D) physical complaints by the children can only be related to a physiological etiology.

Question 11

A patient who has been diagnosed with cancer asks the nurse, "If I take the chemotherapy, will I be cured, or am I going to die anyway?" The nurse's best response is

A) "Tell me what prompted your question."
B) "I don't think you should have chemotherapy; it will harm you more than help you."
C) "Let's not talk about dying; I'm sure you will be cured."
D) "I really don't think you should worry about such things; it isn't something you can control."