A 63-year-old Chinese-American man who recently found out his wife has cancer enters the hospital with complaints of chest pain, shortness of breath, and palpitations. Which statement most accurately reflects the nurse's best course of action?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Wide cultural variations exist in the manner in which certain symptoms and disease conditions are perceived, diagnosed, labeled, and treated. Chinese-Americans sometimes convert mental/psychosocial experiences or states into bodily symptoms (e.g., complaining of cardiac symptoms because the center of emotion in the Chinese culture is the heart). However, the nurse should not assume that his physical symptoms are a manifestation of mental/psychosocial experience and should perform both physical and psychosocial assessments. Although Chinese-Americans sometimes convert mental experiences or states into bodily symptoms (e.g., complaining of cardiac symptoms because the center of emotion in the Chinese culture is the heart), the nurse should not assume that it is psychosomatic problem. Thus, the nurse should not send the client home with instructions to call his physician or solely focus on either psychosomatic complaints or a physical assessment, but should assess both.

A 63-Year-Old Chinese-American Man Who Recently Found Out His Wife