Deck 11: Care for the Caregiver

Question 1

The hospice care nurse has been demonstrating signs of stress and fatigue with frequent colds. Which of the following would be beneficial for this nurse?

A) Take an extended leave of absence from work
B) Call off from work one day each week
C) Analyze daily activities to establish balance and set goals for personal time
D) Change the shift worked to increase rest and sleep time

Answer 1

Analyze daily activities to establish balance and set goals for personal time

Question 2

The elderly daughter of an aging couple has a physical disability that hinders her ability to do personal activities in the home. The aging couple needs significant help with carrying groceries and assistance with moving from sitting to standing positions. The daughter helps them when able; however, she returns home in significant pain. Which of the following should the daughter do to help herself and the parents?

A) Find out if there are any other caregivers available to assist the parents
B) Suggest the parents enter a nursing home
C) Stop making herself available to the parents
D) Refuse to help the parents and contact the physician for help with placing them in a home

Answer 2

Find out if there are any other caregivers available to assist the parents

Question 3

The daughter of an elderly ill patient resents having to care for her father since he was mean and abusive to her as a child. The nurse is concerned that which of the following might occur?

A) The patient will die prematurely
B) The daughter will abandon the patient
C) An abusive situation between the daughter and father will continue
D) The daughter will admit the patient to a hospital to avoid having to provide care

Answer 3

An abusive situation between the daughter and father will continue

Question 4

The hospice nurse tells the nurse manager that she used to enjoy providing care to patients nearing the end of life but recently she finds no joy in the work and oftentimes resents having to spend so much time with the patients and their families. The nurse manager is concerned that the hospice nurse is developing which of the following?

A) Caregiver burnout
B) Compassion fatigue
C) Depression
D) Conflict

Question 5

The daughter of an elderly couple was unable to continue providing weekly transportation for her parents' ongoing shopping and healthcare needs. The daughter contracted with a company to provide transportation, which she is supporting financially. Which of the following does this situation describe to the nurse?

A) The daughter has more money than time to support her parents
B) The daughter shifted a physical burden to a financial burden
C) The parents cannot afford their own health care needs
D) The parents should be in an assisted living facility

Question 6

The granddaughter of an elderly patient is seen crying after helping the patient up the stairs and carrying in groceries. The granddaughter is having increased back pain from all of the extra work and does not want the patient to know. Which of the following does this situation suggest to the nurse?

A) Caregiving activities are causing the granddaughter physical pain
B) The granddaughter does not want the patient to die
C) The granddaughter realizes the patient is going to die soon
D) The patient and the granddaughter have had an argument

Question 7

The daughter of an elderly couple tells the nurse that she loves to visit with her parents but resents having to always "do something" to help them when she visits. The visit turns into work and she cannot wait to leave and return to her own home and life. Which of the following is this daughter describing to the nurse?

A) Low self-esteem
B) Angry with having to help the parents
C) Denial that the parents need help
D) Increasing demands on the daughter that cause routine visits to feel like employment

Question 8

The hospice nurse wants to combat symptoms of compassion fatigue. Which of the following would be helpful for her?

A) Having drinks with friends several nights after work to relax
B) Talking with family about work issues to reduce the emotional load
C) Not discussing work with family; exercising; not smoking; and getting more sleep
D) Striving to meet all of the assigned patients' needs

Question 9

An elderly ill patient tells the nurse that she never wanted to become a burden to her daughters yet that is exactly what she has become. Which of the following responses can the nurse give to this patient?

A) What makes you think you are a burden to your daughters?
B) I'm sure that your daughters don't mind helping you
C) Daughters are supposed to help their mothers
D) Would you like to talk about how you are a burden and possibly reduce your dependence upon your daughters?

Question 10

An elderly patient tells the nurse that she will not be able to leave the hospital until her son gets off of work at 5 pm. The patient is concerned that she will not have the medications she needs since her son is working and cannot get to the pharmacy before it closes. Which of the following can the nurse do to help this patient?

A) Find out if there is a pharmacy near the patient's home that will deliver the medications
B) Suggest that the patient stay in the hospital until the medications can be provided
C) Ask the son to take time off from work to support his mother's care needs
D) Remind the son that it his responsibility to care for his mother and that work can be done at another time

Question 11

The daughter of an elderly patient is concerned that she will lose her job since she has had to help her mother with so many healthcare issues and needs. The patient tells the nurse that she has a "good daughter" and that she does not know what she would do if she did not have her help. Which of the following can the nurse do to help this situation?

A) Suggest that the daughter downsize, move in with the mother, and become a full- time care giver
B) Ask the daughter if she could temporarily quit her job to help her mother full time
C) Talk with the daughter about her employment issues and facilitate additional help for the mother so the daughter can return to work
D) Agree that the daughter is "good" and ask the patient if the daughter is getting paid to provide care to the patient

Question 12

The hospice nurse has been seeing three individual patients in their home environments during the last week. Currently two of the three patients have passed away and the third is near death. The nurse is at risk for developing which of the following?

A) Cumulative loss
B) Loneliness
C) Low self-esteem
D) Low self-worth

Question 13

The hospice nurse is working overtime for the third day in a row. She is irritable with coworkers and concerned that she is missing something while caring for end-of-life patients .Which of the following describes what this nurse is experiencing?

A) Denial
B) Burnout
C) Anticipatory grieving
D) Conflict

Question 14

An elderly patient tells the nurse that he does not need a home-care nurse since his daughter will provide care when he needs it for free. Which of the following does this information provide to the nurse?

A) The daughter can bill Medicare for services rendered to her parent
B) The daughter should become a nurse and get paid for providing care
C) The daughter's providing healthcare might be at the sacrifice of her own income
D) The patient is denying that he needs a home-care nurse

Question 15

The hospice nurse tells a coworker that she cannot go to see one of her patients today because she keeps reliving how she should have been better able to prevent the patient from becoming as sick as he is. Which of the following is the hospice nurse describing?

A) Anticipatory grieving
B) Caregiver burnout
C) Anxiety
D) Compassion fatigue

Question 16

The son of an elderly patient tells the nurse that because his mother needs so much care and will not consider moving to an assisted living facility, he has had to change his work hours to part time and possibly quit his job. Which of the following should the nurse do to assist this family?

A) Suggest that the son move in with the mother
B) Suggest that the son investigate other caregiving sources so that he can keep his job
C) Find out if the mother can support the son financially so that he can quit his job
D) Tell the son to keep his job and if his mother needs help, she will have to find it on her own

Question 17

The daughter of an elderly ill patient tells the nurse that she feels she has gone through the same illness as her mother and is aging more everyday. Which of the following does this suggest to the nurse?

A) The daughter is experiencing the same illness as the mother
B) The stress of caring for the patient has aged the daughter
C) The daughter is experiencing anticipatory grieving
D) The daughter needs a complete physical examination to detect an undiagnosed health problem

Question 18

The wife of a terminally ill patient tells the nurse that she just does not care anymore about herself, has no appetite, and has stopped visiting with friends and family. The nurse recognizes that which of the following is occurring with the wife?

A) Caregiver burnout
B) Development of an acute illness
C) Self-denial
D) Anxiety reaction

Question 19

The daughter of two aging parents has had to reduce her work hours over the last two years and recently quit her job to support her parents' ongoing healthcare needs. Which of the following is this daughter providing for her parents?

A) Dependence on her as the primary caregiver
B) Keeping the parents at home and out of long-term care and skilled nursing facilities
C) Becoming a financial burden to the parents
D) Denial that the parents are adequately cared for in their home environment

Question 20

The son of a terminally ill patient tells the nurse that he has no idea where he can get a job once his father passes away since he had to quit his most recent job in order to assist his father with his healthcare needs. Which of the following responses can the nurse give to the son?

A) It is possible that you will not find work and then what will you do?
B) I'm sure that you will have no trouble finding a job
C) Maybe you should stay unemployed for awhile and gain back your strength before returning to work
D) Is it possible that your previous employer will re-hire you?