Foundations of Nursing in the Community 4th Edition by Marcia Stanhope,Jeanette Lancaster

Exercise 1

The six members of the Mitchell family are Mr. Mitchell, Mrs. Mitchell, 18-year-old Annie, 15-year-old Michelle, 13-year-old Sean, and 7-year-old Bobby. Mr. Mitchell has been the pastor of Faith Baptist Church for the last 15 years. Mrs. Mitchell is a homemaker and primary caretaker for the children.
For the past year, Mrs. Mitchell has felt tired and "run down." At her annual physical, she describes her symptoms to her physician. After several tests, Mrs. Mitchell is diagnosed with stomach cancer. She starts to cry and says, "How will I tell my family "
Mrs. Mitchell's primary physician refers the family to Trisha Farewell, a nurse in community health. Ms. Farewell calls the household and speaks with Mrs. Mitchell. Ms. Farewell tells Mrs. Mitchell that she was referred by the physician and she can help Mrs. Mitchell cope with the diagnosis. Mrs. Mitchell confides in Ms. Farewell that it has been 2 weeks since she received the diagnosis but she has yet to tell her husband and children. Mrs. Mitchell asks Ms. Farewell if she can help her tell her family and explain what it all means. Ms. Farewell makes an appointment to go to the Mitchell household and facilitate the family meeting. As seen in this case, the nurse often can help a family talk about a difficult subject and help the family examine ways in which they will cope with the difficulty.