ATI RN
Psychobiological Disorder Questions
Question 1 of 5
A soldier returned home from active duty in a combat zone in Afghanistan and was diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The soldier says, 'If there's a loud noise at night, I get under my bed because I think we're getting bombed.' What type of experience has the soldier described?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Flashbacks are dissociative reactions in which an individual feels or acts as if the traumatic event were recurring. Illusions are misinterpretations of stimuli, and although the experience is similar, it is better termed a flashback because of the diagnosis of PTSD. Auditory hallucinations have no external stimuli. Nightmares commonly accompany PTSD, but this experience was stimulated by an actual environmental sound.
Question 2 of 5
Relaxation techniques help patients who have experienced major traumas because they:
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: In response to trauma, the sympathetic arousal symptoms of rapid heart rate and rapid respiration prepare the person for flight or fight responses. Afterward, the dorsal vagal response damps down the sympathetic nervous system. This is a parasympathetic response with the heart rate and respiration slowing down and decreasing the blood pressure. Relaxation techniques promote activity of the parasympathetic nervous system.
Question 3 of 5
The nurse interviewing a patient with suspected posttraumatic stress disorder should be alert to findings indicating the patient: (select all that apply)
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Failed to generate a rationale of 500+ characters after 5 retries.
Question 4 of 5
A medical-surgical nurse works with a patient diagnosed with a somatic symptom disorder. Care planning is facilitated by understanding that the patient will probably:
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Failed to generate a rationale of 500+ characters after 5 retries.
Question 5 of 5
To assist patients diagnosed with somatic symptom disorders, nursing interventions of high priority:
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Shifting the focus from somatic symptoms to feelings or to neutral topics conveys interest in the patient as a person rather than as a condition. The need to gain attention with the use of symptoms is reduced over the long term. A desired outcome would be that the patient would express feelings, including anger if it is present. Once physical symptoms are investigated, they do not need to be reinvestigated each time the patient reports them.