Deck 12: Death and Dying

Question 1

A patient has been diagnosed with incurable lung cancer and it is determined that death is imminent. What type of care would best serve this patient?

A) curative
B) experimental
C) hospitalization
D) homeopathic
E) palliative

Answer 1

palliative

Question 2

Which of the following correctly describes an aspect of hospice care?

A) Patients are referred to clergy for bereavement care.
B) Interdisciplinary care is not available to patients on hospice care.
C) Hospice care is not reimbursed by Medicare or Medicaid.
D) Most in-home hospice programs are independently run.
E) Hospice care only occurs in hospitals.

Answer 2

Most in-home hospice programs are independently run.

Question 3

A patient dies under suspicious conditions. Which of the following might occur to determine cause of this patient's death?

A) autopsy
B) postmortem hearing
C) lawsuit
D) criminal investigation
E) civil investigation

Answer 3

autopsy

Question 4

Autopsies must be performed in cases in which the death is suspicious or due to homicide. Which of the following is true regarding current trends in performing autopsies?

A) Technological advances have made postmortem diagnoses more essential.
B) A reason for fewer autopsies is the unavailability of pathologists in small hospitals.
C) More autopsies are performed today because insurance companies cover them.
D) When an autopsy is mandated by law, family members must give consent.
E) Health care costs have climbed, so fewer autopsies are being done.

Question 5

States have their own criteria for determining when death actually occurs, but most have adopted the definition of brain death proposed by which of the following?

A) American Bar Association
B) American Medical Association's Act
C) President's Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems
D) Uniform Determination of Death Act
E) National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws

Question 6

For patients to be eligible for hospice care, physicians usually must certify that they are not expected to live beyond how many months?

A) 3
B) 6
C) 9
D) 12
E) 15

Question 7

According to the Uniform Determination of Death Act, which of the following is a criteria for death?

A) irreversible coma occurs
B) entire brain ceases to function
C) circulation has increased
D) breathing is labored
E) most of the brain has ceased to function

Question 8

For which of the following reasons did pagan tribes begin the custom of covering the face of the deceased with a sheet?

A) They believed that the spirit of the deceased escaped through the mouth.
B) They believed that the spirit of the deceased would call other family members.
C) They believed that the spirit of the deceased could see other family members.
D) They were afraid the deceased would cast a spell on other family members.
E) They were afraid of spreading disease.

Question 9

From which ancient custom do wakes held today originate?

A) watching the spirit of the deceased return to its resting place
B) keeping watch over the deceased hoping life would return
C) keeping watch so the deceased does not harm the living
D) keeping watch so the spirit of the deceased feels loved
E) follows church requirements

Question 10

An early custom for mourners was to go barefoot and to wear sackcloth and ashes. What was the purpose of this practice?

A) to show their sorrow
B) to make amends to the dead
C) to avoid making the dead envious
D) to show respect for the dead
E) to follow religious rules

Question 11

A Persistent vegetative state(PVS) exists as a result of severe mental impairment, characterized by irreversible cessation of the higher functions of the brain, most often caused by damage to which of the following organs?

A) cerebral cortex
B) cerebellum
C) medulla oblongata
D) brain stem
E) heart

Question 12

A physician suggests hospice care for a patient with aggressive brain cancer that is not responding to curative care. Which of the following is true about hospice care?

A) The care occurs in a hospice facility that is separate from other medical facilities.
B) It focuses on relieving pain using alternative comfort measures instead of medications.
C) It is not designed to meet the emotional needs of the patient or family.
D) It is not designed to target the underlying disease process.
E) It focuses on care in the hospital.

Question 13

Which of the following is not a goal of palliative care?

A) provide support for the family members of a terminally ill patient
B) provide comfort to a dying patients
C) providing symptom management to a patient with a terminal illness
D) using pain management to promote comfort for a patient with a terminal illness
E) using current research studies to find a cure for a terminal illness

Question 14

What may be the consequential result of autopsies performed in hospitals to confirm or correct clinical diagnoses?

A) research
B) ethical decision making
C) risk management
D) quality assurance
E) criminal investigations

Question 15

According to a 2013 study done by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), how many of the 125 U.S. medical schools offer courses on death and dying?

A) 10
B) 9
C) 7
D) 6
E) 5

Question 16

Technically, it can be said that death results from a lack of:

A) brain waves
B) blood circulation
C) oxygen
D) reflexes
E) cessation of higher brain functions

Question 17

Palliative care programs are available in hospitals. In the U.S., what is the approximate percentage of hospitals that have palliative care programs?

A) 20%
B) 30%
C) 40%
D) 55%
E) 60%

Question 18

What was the significance of placing a funeral wreath on a coffin in pagan times?

A) protecting the body from demons
B) warding off spirits hovering around the body
C) a religious custom
D) keeping the dead person's spirit from harming the living
E) keeping the dead person's spirit within bounds

Question 19

Traditionally, in educational programs for health care practitioners, courses of study have placed more emphasis on what type of care?

A) hospice
B) experimental
C) curative
D) comfort
E) palliative

Question 20

Increasingly, schools that train health care providers are offering courses in thanatology. What is the focus of this course of study?

A) death and psychological methods of coping with it
B) using aggressive curative treatment on patients with terminal illnesses
C) using religion to cope with death issues
D) legal and ethical issues pertaining to euthanasia
E) using experimental methods to save terminally ill patients

Question 21

Define persistent vegetative state (PVS).

Question 22

What aspect of death and dying did the late Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, MD, describe?

A) grieving rituals
B) religious aspects of death and dying
C) the coping methods of persons who are grieving
D) impact of the death of a relative on the family structure
E) the cost of death and dying

Question 23

Which of the following was the goal of the Organ Donation and Recovery Improvement Act, passed in 2004?

A) prioritize a list of recipients
B) organize a list of donors
C) increase organ donations
D) improve transplantation success rates
E) prioritize specific organ transplants

Question 24

Which of the following is the legal term for an advance directive that specifies an individual's end-of-life wishes for medical treatment without necessarily appointing a designee to make legal decisions for him or her?

A) living will
B) durable power of attorney
C) patient self-determination
D) health care proxy
E) instructive directive at end of life

Question 25

How is a health care proxy different than a durable power of attorney?

A) A health care proxy must be an attorney.
B) A health care proxy cannot make medical decisions.
C) A health care proxy must be related to the designee.
D) A health care proxy can only make health care decisions.
E) A health care proxy must be a relative of the patient.

Question 26

Passed in 1984, what does the National Organ Transplant Act address?

A) safety of organs
B) transportation of organs
C) distribution of organs
D) maintenance of organs
E) shortage of organs

Question 27

What was the purpose of the creation of the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act?

A) to allow individuals to donate body parts for money
B) to allow individuals to donate their bodies to science after death
C) to allow individuals to bid on donated organs
D) to allow physicians to use organs as they see fit
E) to allow medical schools to purchase organs

Question 28

The l989 Uniform Rights of the Terminally Ill Act serves as a guideline for state legislatures in constructing laws addressing which of the following?

A) elective suicide
B) right to die
C) euthanasia
D) palliative care
E) advanced directives

Question 29

The right to die first became a matter for the courts to deliberate in 1976, with the death of:

A) Nancy Beth Cruzan
B) Karen Ann Quinlan
C) Jack Kevorkian
D) Luis Kutner
E) Terry Schiavo

Question 30

Which of the following in not an organ that can be transplanted?

A) heart
B) kidney
C) brain
D) stomach
E) bone

Question 31

Describe hospice.

Question 32

Define brain death.

Question 33

Which of the following occurs in Stage 5 of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross's grieving process?

A) denial
B) anger
C) acceptance
D) rejection
E) guilt

Question 34

Which of the following is an example of a person who is experiencing the third stage of grief according to Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, MD?

A) A person who is dying asks God to keep her alive to see the birth of her grandchild.
B) A terminally ill person seeks another doctor because she doesn't believe her diagnosis.
C) A person who is dying is angry at God for the loss of control over her life.
D) A person who is dying feels hopeless and cries frequently.
E) A person comes to terms with dying.

Question 35

Which state law was the first state law passed to permit physician-assisted suicide in certain circumstances?

A) California's Natural Death Act
B) Patient Self-Determination Act
C) Oregon's Death with Dignity Act
D) Uniform Rights of the Terminally Ill Act
E) Vermont's Death with Dignity Act

Question 36

Define palliative care.

Question 37

In 1967, what entity devised the original living will?

A) American Hospital Association
B) U.S. Supreme Court
C) California Supreme Court
D) Euthanasia Society
E) Oregon legislature

Question 38

Which of the following statements best describes the term "grief"?

A) Grief is an emotion felt only when a loved one dies.
B) Grief is the human reaction to loss.
C) Grief is the process that occurs after resolution takes place.
D) Grief is general sadness that occurs when things go wrong.
E) Grief is when one is sad.

Question 39

Define curative care.

Question 40

A patient asks his physician "Can you help me die in peace?" The physician agrees to withhold medical treatment for this patient. This is an example of what type of euthanasia?

A) active
B) passive
C) involuntary
D) physician-assisted
E) common law

Question 41

What is a health care proxy?

Question 42

Define thanatology.

Question 43

Define grief.

Question 44

What does the Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA) cover?

Question 45

Using Kübler-Ross's model, identify the five stages of grief.

Question 46

What are Roberta Temes's stages of grief?

Question 47

What is a durable power of attorney?

Question 48

What is a living will?

Question 49

If a person donated an organ, would the recipient and/or the recipient's family learn the donor's identity and contact the donor or his or her family?

Question 50

What is the purpose of the National Organ Transplant Act?