ATI LPN
Brunner & Suddarth's Textbook of Medical-Surgical Nursing 14e (Hinkle 2017)
Chapter 11 : Health Care of the Older Adult Questions
Question 1 of 5
Older people have many altered reactions to disease that are based on age-related physiological changes. When the nurse observes physical indicators of illness in the older population, that nurse must remember which of the following principles?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Physical indicators of illness that are useful and reliable in young and middle-aged people cannot be relied on for the diagnosis of potential life-threatening problems in older adults. Option A is incorrect because a potentially life-threatening problem in an older person is more serious than it would be in a middle-aged person because the older adult does not have the physical resources of the middle-aged person. Physical indicators of serious health care problems in a young or middle-aged population do not indicate disease states that are considered mild in the elderly population. It is true that middle-aged people do not react to disease states the same as a younger population, but this option does not answer the question.
Question 2 of 5
You are the nurse caring for a 91-year-old patient admitted to the hospital for a fall. The patient complains of urge incontinence and tells you he most often falls when he tries to get to the bathroom in his home. You identify the nursing diagnosis of risk for falls related to impaired mobility and urinary incontinence. The older adults risk for falls is considered to be which of the following?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: A number of problems commonly experienced by the elderly are becoming recognized as geriatric syndromes. These conditions do not fit into discrete disease categories. Examples include frailty, delirium, falls, urinary incontinence, and pressure ulcers. Impaired cognitive functioning, environmental hazards in the home, and an age-related health deficit may all play a part in the episodes in this patients life that led to falls, but they are not diagnoses and are, therefore, incorrect.
Question 3 of 5
You are providing care for an 82-year-old man whose signs and symptoms of Parkinson disease have become more severe over the past several months. The man tells you that he can no longer do as many things for himself as he used to be able to do. What factor should you recognize as impacting your patients life most significantly?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: This patients statement places a priority on his loss of independence. This is undoubtedly a result of the neurologic changes associated with his disease, but this is not the focus of his statement. This is a disease process, not an age-related physiological change.
Question 4 of 5
A gerontologic nurse practitioner provides primary care for a large number of older adults who are living with various forms of cardiovascular disease. This nurse is well aware that heart disease is the leading cause of death in the aged. What is an age-related physiological change that contributes to this trend?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The leading cause of death for patients over the age of 65 years is cardiovascular disease. With age, heart muscle and arteries lose their elasticity, resulting in a reduced stroke volume. As a person ages, systolic blood pressure does not decrease, resting heart rate does not decrease, and the aged are not less likely to adopt a healthy lifestyle.
Question 5 of 5
An occupational health nurse overhears an employee talking to his manager about a 65 -year-old coworker. What phenomenon would the nurse identify when hearing the employee state, He should just retire and make way for some new blood.?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Ageism refers to prejudice against the aged. Intolerance is implied by the employees statement, but the intolerance is aimed at the coworkers age. The employees statement does not raise concern about dependence. The prejudice exhibited in the statement is very specific.