NCLEX-RN
Communication and Documentation Questions
Extract:
Question 1 of 5
A client has been using crutches to ambulate for 1 week and now reports pain, fatigue, and frustration with crutch walking. How should the nurse respond when the client states, 'I feel like I will always be crippled'?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The correct option demonstrates the therapeutic communication technique of clarification and validation and indicates that the nurse is dealing with the client's problem from the client's perspective. Option 2 devalues the client's feelings and thus blocks communication. Option 3 gives advice and is a communication block. Option 4 provides false reassurances because the client may not be done with the crutches in another month. Additionally, it does not focus on the present problem.
Question 2 of 5
The registered nurse is orienting a new nurse on how to care for a client diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus, who was recently hospitalized for hyperglycemic hyperosmolar syndrome (HHS). When preparing for discharge from the hospital, the client expresses anxiety and concerns about the recurrence of HHS. Which response by the new nurse is best?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The nurse should provide time and listen to the client's concerns while attempting to clarify the client's feelings as in the correct option. Option 2 is not an appropriate nursing response because it is making suggestions regarding care options without appropriately identifying the client's true concerns. Options 3 and 4 provide inappropriate false hope and disregard the client's concerns.
Question 3 of 5
A client who is experiencing paranoid thinking involving food being poisoned is admitted to the mental health unit. Which communication technique should the nurse use to encourage the client to communicate his fears?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Open-ended questions and silence are strategies that are used to encourage clients to discuss their feelings in a descriptive manner. Options 2 and 3 are not helpful to the client because they do not encourage the expression of personal feelings. Option 4 is not a client-centered intervention.
Question 4 of 5
The nurse assesses the client's peripheral intravenous (IV) site and notes that it is cool, pale, and swollen, and the fluid is not infusing. Which condition should the nurse document?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The infusion stops when the pressure in the tissue exceeds the pressure in the tubing. The pallor, coolness, and swelling of the IV site are the result of IV fluid infusing into the subcutaneous tissue. An IV site is infiltrated when it becomes dislodged from the vein and is lying in subcutaneous tissue, so the nurse concludes that the IV is infiltrated. The nurse needs to remove the infiltrated catheter and insert a new IV. All the remaining options are likely to be accompanied by warmth at the site.
Question 5 of 5
The nurse creates a plan of care to facilitate effective communication for a client who requests assistance in order to live independently. Which intervention has highest priority?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: For effective communication, the nurse uses active listening and assesses for verbal and nonverbal communication to receive the client's intended message, thus creating an environment in which the client feels comfortable expressing feelings. An authoritarian approach is directive and not permissive, and it is unlikely to create an environment for the free exchange of thoughts and ideas. Reflecting facts only is a barrier to effective communication because subjective information can also provide a stimulus for effective communication. Reacting in a matter-of-fact manner can be an ineffective strategy for facilitating communication.