ATI RN
Behavioral Health Nursing Care Plans Questions
Question 1 of 5
Documentation in a patient's chart shows, 'Throughout a 5-minute interaction, patient fidgeted and tapped left foot, periodically covered face with hands, and looked under chair while stating, 'I enjoy spending time with you.' Which analysis is most accurate?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: When a verbal message is not reinforced with nonverbal behavior, the message is confusing and incongruent. It is inaccurate to say that the patient is giving positive feedback about the nurse's communication techniques. The concept of a cultural filter is not relevant to the situation because a cultural filter determines what we will pay attention to and what we will ignore. Data are insufficient to draw the conclusion that the patient is demonstrating psychotic behaviors.
Question 2 of 5
A patient tells the nurse, 'My doctor thinks my problems with stress relate to the negative way I think about things and suggested I learn new ways of thinking.' Which response by the nurse would support the recommendation?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Cognitive reframing focuses on recognizing and correcting maladaptive patterns of thinking that create stress or interfere with coping. Cognitive reframing involves recognizing the habit of thinking about a situation or issue in a fixed, irrational, and unquestioning manner. Helping the patient to recognize and reframe (reword) such thoughts so that they are realistic and accurate promotes coping and reduces stress. Thinking about being in calming circumstances is a form of guided imagery. Instruments that give feedback about bodily functions are used in biofeedback. Journaling is effective for helping to increase self-awareness. However, none of these last three interventions is likely to alter the patient's manner of thinking.
Question 3 of 5
A patient checks and rechecks electrical cords related to an obsessive thought that the house may burn down. The nurse and patient explore the likelihood of an actual fire. The patient states this event is not likely. This counseling demonstrates principles of
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Cognitive restructuring involves the patient in testing automatic thoughts and drawing new conclusions. Desensitization involves graduated exposure to a feared object. Relaxation training teaches the patient to produce the opposite of the stress response. Flooding exposes the patient to a large amount of an undesirable stimulus in an effort to extinguish the anxiety response.
Question 4 of 5
A nurse manager had to terminate an employee. After the termination, the nurse manager had feelings of loss but then became supportive of the new manager by helping make the transition smooth and encouraging others. Which term best describes the nurse's response?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Altruism is the mechanism by which an individual deals with emotional conflict by meeting the needs of others and receiving gratification vicariously or from the responses of others. The nurse's reaction is conscious rather than unconscious. There is no evidence of suppression. Intellectualization is a process in which events are analyzed based on remote, cold facts and without passion, rather than incorporating feeling and emotion into the processing. Reaction formation is when unacceptable feelings or behaviors are controlled and kept out of awareness by developing the opposite behavior or emotion.
Question 5 of 5
The nurse assesses a patient who complains of loneliness and episodes of anxiety. Which statement by the patient is mostly likely if this patient also has agoraphobia?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Individuals who are agoraphobic generally acknowledge that the behavior is not constructive and that they do not really like it. The symptom is ego dystonic. However, patients will state they are unable to change the behavior. Agoraphobics are not optimistic about change. Most families are dissatisfied when family members refuse to leave the house.