ATI RN
Psychobiologic Disorders Questions
Question 1 of 5
The unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) says to the nurse, 'That patient with amnesia looks fine, but when I talk to her, she seems vague. What should I be doing for her?' Select the nurse's best reply.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Disruptions in ability to perform activities of daily living, confusion, and anxiety are often apparent in patients with amnesia. Offering simple directions to promote activities of daily living and reduce confusion helps increase feelings of safety and security. A calm, secure, predictable, protective environment is also helpful when a person is dealing with a great deal of uncertainty. Recollection of memories should proceed at its own pace, and the patient should only gradually be given information about her past. Asking questions that require recall that the patient does not possess will only add frustration. Quiet, undemanding activities should be provided as the patient tolerates them and should be balanced with rest periods; the patient's time should not be loaded with demanding or stimulating activities.
Question 2 of 5
A soldier served in combat zones in Iraq during 2010 and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2013. When is it most important for the nurse to screen for signs and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Failed to generate a rationale of 500+ characters after 5 retries.
Question 3 of 5
Which assessment finding best supports dissociative fugue? The patient states:
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Failed to generate a rationale of 500+ characters after 5 retries.
Question 4 of 5
A young adult says, 'I was sexually abused by my older brother. During those assaults, I went somewhere else in my mind. I don't remember the details. Now, I often feel numb or unreal in romantic relationships, so I just avoid them.' Which disorders should the nurse suspect based on this history? Select all that apply.
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Acute stress disorder, depersonalization disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder can involve dissociative elements, such as numbing, feeling unreal, and being amnesic for traumatic events. All three disorders are also responses to acute stress or trauma, which has occurred here. The distracters are disorders not evident in this patient's presentation. Generalized anxiety disorder involves extensive worrying that is disproportionate to the stressors or foci of the worrying. Reactive attachment disorder and disinhibited social engagement disorder are problems of childhood.
Question 5 of 5
Which assessment data would help the health care team distinguish symptoms of conversion (functional neurological) disorder from symptoms of illness anxiety disorder (hypochondriasis)?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Patients with illness anxiety disorder (hypochondriasis) tend to be more anxious about their concerns and display more obsessive attention to detail, whereas the patient with conversion (functional neurological) disorder often exhibits less concern with the symptom they are presenting than would be expected. Neither disorder involves voluntary control of the symptoms. Results of diagnostic testing for both would be negative (i.e., no physiological basis would be found for the symptoms). Secondary gains can occur in both disorders but are not necessary to either.