Chapter 8: Overview of Genetics and Genomics in Nursing - Nurselytic

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: A well-documented family history is a tool used by the health care team to make a diagnosis, identify teaching strategies, and establish a pattern of inheritance. The family history should include at least three generations, as well as information about the current and past health status of all family members, including the age of onset of any illnesses and cause of death and age at death. Medications and immunizations are part of the general health history, not specifically the genetic history.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale: Cystic fibrosis is autosomal recessive. People who are related have more genes in common than those who are unrelated, thus increasing their chance for having children with autosomal recessive conditions like cystic fibrosis if both are carriers. It is not autosomal dominant, mitochondrial, or X-linked.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: Physical assessment may provide clues that a particular genetic condition is present. For neurofibromatosis type 1, skin findings like caf-au-lait spots are a key indicator. Increased urination might suggest diabetes, projectile vomiting could indicate pyloric stenosis, and xanthomas are associated with hyperlipidemia, not neurofibromatosis.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale: The nurse must honor the patient's wishes while explaining the potential benefit this information may have for other family members. Breaching confidentiality by contacting siblings or their physicians is unethical. Involving a geneticist may be helpful, but the primary action is to respect the patient's confidentiality while encouraging disclosure.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: When two carrier parents have children together, they have a 25% chance of having a child who inherits the gene mutation from each parent and who will have the condition, as in autosomal recessive inheritance. The other percentages are incorrect for this inheritance pattern.