Deck 4: Health, Illness, Stress, and Coping

Question 1

A home health nurse is assisting a patient who is chronically ill with congestive heart failure to reorder time.What is the best intervention to assist this patient?

A) Encouraging the patient to get up earlier or to go to sleep later
B) Developing a daily schedule that allows time for activities, as well as for medical regimens
C) Giving up time-consuming activities such as watching television or answering e-mail messages
D) Encouraging the patient to complete only one task a day

Answer 1

Developing a daily schedule that allows time for activities, as well as for medical regimens

Question 2

A nurse clarifies that a neuroendocrine response involves both the autonomic nervous system and the endocrine system.Which syndrome is this considered?

A) Local adaptation
B) Total adaptation
C) Acute adaptation
D) General adaptation

Answer 2

General adaptation

Question 3

A nurse points out that a physiologic response to stress involves the total body.Which syndrome is this considered?

A) General adaptation
B) Local adaptation
C) Negative feedback
D) Total adaptation

Answer 3

General adaptation

Question 4

What is the current view of health?

A) Promotes the highest quality of life possible, both mentally and socially.
B) Includes mental, physical, social, and emotional adaptation to the environment.
C) Includes the basic physiologic needs and self-actualization.
D) Relies on alternative therapies for the treatment and cure of diseases.

Question 5

A patient returning from surgery complains of incisional pain that is now rated 7 in intensity on the 1-to-10 pain scale.What should the nurse be aware that pain exemplifies?

A) General adaptation syndrome
B) Local adaptation syndrome
C) Counter-current response
D) Neuroendocrine response

Question 6

Which syndrome includes the alarm reaction stage, resistance stage, and exhaustion stage?

A) Local adaptation syndrome
B) General adaptation syndrome
C) Total adaptation syndrome
D) Absolute adaptation syndrome

Question 7

What is the term for activities directed toward maintaining or enhancing well-being against illness?

A) Health promotion
B) Health treatment
C) Health evaluation
D) Health assessment

Question 8

What type of illness are the common cold, appendicitis, and urinary tract infections considered?

A) Chronic
B) Disabling
C) Emergency
D) Acute

Question 9

Which type of response is demonstrated when an individual seeks help from family, friends, or a community resource during a time of stress?

A) Internal
B) External
C) Physiologic
D) Psychologic

Question 10

How should a nurse describe a patient who has a functional interaction of the cognitive, affective, behavioral, and social dimensions of his personality?

A) Effectively organized
B) Personally satisfied
C) Well rounded
D) Mentally healthy

Question 11

What is the first step in helping patients to increase adaptability?

A) Assess past methods of coping with stress.
B) Suggest using past coping strategies.
C) Determine external coping strategies.
D) Determine what the patient perceives as stressful.

Question 12

What are the ability to solve problems and to maintain self-confidence and the willingness to accept criticism incorporated in according to Maslow?

A) Safety and security
B) Self-esteem
C) Self-actualization
D) Love and belonging

Question 13

What is the best example for a nurse to use when explaining chronic illness?

A) Acne
B) Appendicitis
C) Heart attack
D) Asthma

Question 14

A patient is being discharged from same-day surgery after a tonsillectomy.The nurse is aware that the patient will be in the phase of general adaptation syndrome, in which the body begins to heal after injury.Which stage is this considered?

A) Alarm stage
B) Resistance stage
C) Exhaustion stage
D) Initial stage

Question 15

An anxious co-worker who is to present a comprehensive report to the hospital board on innovative staffing patterns sits down at a table in the lunchroom and begins to tell you what will be presented in the report.Which coping strategy is this co-worker using?

A) Event rehearsal
B) Problem solving
C) Event review
D) Social support

Question 16

What is the major advantage of using Maslow's hierarchy of needs when planning nursing care for patients?

A) Establishes a nursing diagnosis.
B) Improves problem-solving techniques.
C) Prioritizes patient care.
D) Establishes priorities of care.

Question 17

During the initial gathering of data, a patient reveals a weight loss of 17 lb since the death of his spouse 5 weeks earlier.He says that he is not sleeping and has no appetite.What category of unmet needs should be considered by the nurse according to Maslow's hierarchy of needs?

A) Physiologic
B) Safety and security
C) Love and belonging
D) Self-actualization

Question 18

A nurse assesses that smoking, drinking alcohol, and exercising compulsively may occur as responses to a stressful situation.What type of response should this be considered?

A) External
B) Withdrawal
C) Denial
D) Internal

Question 19

A nurse gives the example of when an individual becomes frightened and experiences an increased heart rate and mental activity along with increased blood flow to the skeletal muscles and dilated pupils.The person is experiencing an alarm reaction that helps the body defend against stressors.What type of response is the alarm reaction considered?

A) Positive feedback response
B) Negative feedback response
C) Fight-or-flight response
D) Homeostasis response

Question 20

What is the traditional view of health?

A) Promotes optimal function.
B) Views health and illness as separate concepts.
C) Defines health as an absence of illness.
D) Emphasizes the prevention of disease.

Question 21

When a patient is asked whether he wants his pain medication, he says to you, "I don't know; whatever you think is best." What should the nurse recognize this maladaptive coping mechanism as?

A) Powerlessness
B) Helplessness
C) Denial
D) Depression

Question 22

When a patient is given a diagnosis of cancer, his first statement is, "What did I ever do to deserve God punishing me?" What does this exemplify?

A) Maladaptive coping
B) Behavioral emotionalism
C) Spiritual distress
D) Spiritual maladaptation

Question 23

Which action is an example of a person attempting to maintain homeostasis as a newcomer in a community?

A) Joins a local church.
B) Buys a new car.
C) Stays in his or her apartment watching television.
D) Spends hours writing e-mail messages to old friends.

Question 24

Which patient diagnosis and behavior should lead a nurse to conclude the patient is using the defense mechanism of denial?

A) A patient with emphysema continues to smoke.
B) A patient with diabetes mellitus uses a sugar substitute.
C) A patient with a drug problem blames his mother for his habit.
D) A patient with osteoarthritis angrily kicks the steps that he cannot climb.

Question 25

A patient with low back pain confesses that he drinks heavily each night to help him sleep and control pain.What does this behavior exemplify?

A) Alternate pain control methods
B) Coping with a chronic condition
C) Using a social coping mechanism
D) Using a maladaptive coping method

Question 26

A 24-year-old man scheduled for brain surgery in the morning constantly listens to music with his headphones on.What should a nurse recognize this behavior as?

A) Conversion reaction
B) Conscious coping strategy
C) Defense mechanism of undoing
D) Reaction formation

Question 27

What information should a nurse provide to a Native American patient taking herbal remedies and nutritional supplements?

A) Herbs and vitamins are not helpful.
B) If herbs and vitamins are not harmful, then they will be integrated into the plan of care.
C) Medical research has shown that such alternative remedies are a waste of money.
D) In the hospital, no physician will prescribe anything other than accepted medical protocols.

Question 28

When a 25-year-old woman who had a hysterectomy 1 day earlier tearfully tells the nurse that she is grieving for the children she will never have, the nurse assesses the grief as positive.What does grief allow this patient to achieve?

A) Focus on her loss.
B) Forget about her concern.
C) Reappraise her values for the future.
D) Depend on others for grief support.

Question 29

Which behavior best exemplifies developmental activities in a 13-year-old teenager?

A) Going out with a group of friends
B) Reading an exciting book
C) Volunteering for the local hospital
D) Choosing a career

Question 30

What is an example of a positive stressor?

A) Test anxiety
B) Loss of a job
C) Paying income tax
D) Single motherhood

Question 31

Which patient is most likely to experience the greatest cultural impact on his coping with a chronic debilitating illness?

A) A 26-year-old Latino man with a family
B) A 30-year-old divorced white man with no dependents
C) A 35-year-old Asian wife with a family
D) A 65-year-old widowed black church pastor with married children

Question 32

In which stage is introspection a major characteristic?

A) Middle-aged adult
B) Middle childhood
C) Early adulthood
D) Older-age adult

Question 33

A nurse assesses that a 42-year-old patient lives with her parents and is dependent on them for decisions about her life.Which mental health characteristic is this patient lacking?

A) Reality orientation
B) Autonomous behavior
C) Spontaneity
D) Ethical decision making

Question 34

How does fear differ from anxiety?

A) Fear is a useless emotion.
B) Fear is an ineffective coping strategy.
C) Fear is an irrational feeling.
D) Fear is a response to a specific threat.

Question 35

A 5-year-old patient was in an accident in which his cousin was killed.The patient starts to wet the bed at night.What question should the nurse ask the mother when she confirms that it has been several years since the patient had any difficulty with bedwetting?

A) "Do you think this is related to the accident?"
B) "Do others in the family have this problem?"
C) "Does your child drink lots of fluids late at night?"
D) "Are there any stressful situations in your family?"

Question 36

A star quarterback on the high school football team is injured in a motorcycle accident.He will be unable to play football again.Which patient problem is most appropriate when planning care specific to coping?

A) Immobility
B) Impaired self-concept
C) Decreased socialization
D) Inadequate comfort

Question 37

What is the goal of nursing care for the patient with a chronic illness?

A) Find the cause of the illness.
B) Tell the patient that he or she will learn to live with the illness.
C) Help the patient manage the illness.
D) Give the patient websites that have information about the illness.

Question 38

An older Italian woman has an egg yolk in a bowl under her bed that she believes is absorbing the evil of her illness and making her feel better.Which action should a nurse implement?

A) Move the egg yolk out of the way to the bathroom.
B) Replace the egg yolk with a hard-boiled egg.
C) Remove the egg for sanitary purposes.
D) Include maintenance of the egg in the nursing care plan.

Question 39

A nurse hears a 5-year-old patient who just started kindergarten uses rude vocabulary.What is the best response to this behavior?

A) Ignore it.
B) Speak to his teacher about it.
C) Praise him when he speaks properly.
D) Talk about it at the parent-teachers association.

Question 40

A wife of a critically injured husband has been at his bedside constantly for 2 days.As the nurse speaks to the wife, the wife sobs, "This is awful.I can't take it anymore." What is the wife experiencing?

A) Fear
B) Denial
C) Compensation
D) Stress

Question 41

What factors are known to influence coping strategies? (Select all that apply.)

A) Age
B) Financial status
C) Role expectations
D) Personal values
E) Cultural expectations

Question 42

What should a nurse evaluate to assess the social dimension of a patient's persona? (Select all that apply.)

A) Interaction with family
B) Formulation of thoughts
C) Presentation of self to community
D) Problem solving
E) Processing of information

Question 43

The term that a nurse uses to refer to persons who fail to maintain treatment protocols is _______.

Question 44

What nursing action should be implemented when dealing with a patient who is an alcoholic in denial and claims to only drink in social situations?

A) Insist that he stop drinking entirely.
B) Point out that the patient is using denial.
C) Help the patient investigate ways to reduce drinking.
D) Provide information on Alcoholics Anonymous.

Question 45

A tendency of biologic systems to maintain stability of the internal environment while continually adjusting to changes is _______.

Question 46

How can a nurse assist when a caregiver is frustrated and is complaining of being overwhelmed? (Select all that apply.)

A) Taking over the care
B) Referring the caregiver to a support group
C) Seeking assistance from a home health agency
D) Listening to the caregiver's concerns
E) Assisting in making a daily schedule for the caregiver to follow

Question 47

A student nurse who was terrified of giving an injection now gives many injections every shift.The change in the nurse is the result of _______.

Question 48

What should the nurse explain as reasons why a person who is ill should be allowed to adopt the "sick role." (Select all that apply.)

A) Exempt from usual roles
B) Seeking attention
C) Expected to get well
D) Actively seeking remedy
E) Using illness as excuse for failure

Question 49

What are characteristics of a healthy person according to Maslow? (Select all that apply.)

A) Acceptance of self
B) Reality orientation
C) Spontaneity
D) Effective problem-solving skills
E) No need for privacy

Question 50

A nurse recognizes that mild stress can be a positive force that stimulates the patient to _______ a problem.