A resident in a nursing home insists that a priest hear his confession.The resident is very anxious,and the nursing home does not have a Roman Catholic chaplain.Which intervention should the nurse implement?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The nurse should respect the resident's beliefs and practices and accommodate them when they are not harmful.Receiving the Sacrament can potentially relieve much of the patient's anxiety.Arranging an appointment with an Episcopal priest for the resident is not an appropriate intervention; the two belief systems are not the same,and the resident is unlikely to experience the minister's efforts as satisfactory.Reporting the resident's change in behavior to the attending physician is also inappropriate; the resident's wish can be understood entirely within the resident's belief system and need not reflect a medical problem,particularly if a visit by a priest relieves the resident's anxiety.Referring the resident to the staff psychologist to address the underlying cause of the patient's anxiety is an approach that attempts to change the resident's belief system.

A Resident in a Nursing Home Insists That a Priest