A nurse visits a 3-month-old infant of a single mother for a weight check.She finds two older children running around the home, the infant is crying, the mother yelling at the two children and a half-lit cigarette is in an ashtray.The mother tells the nurse the visit needs to be cut short today because she has to pick up her other children from the bus stop.Which of the following would be the most beneficial intervention this nurse can provide during this visit?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Abusing parents are often socially isolated and have few people to whom they can turn during times of crisis; they also cannot support one another emotionally.The most beneficial intervention the nurse can provide is to keep the visit short, weigh the infant, and offer the mother the help of community services.Threatening the mother with a call to child protective services sets up an adversarial relationship, which is neither beneficial to the child nor the mother.If the nurse feels that the home situation rises to the level of notifying child protective services, she would do so without making threats or stipulations.Neither staying behind in the home nor picking the older children up at the bus stop represents professional nursing activity.Both have legal ramifications and would be inappropriate.

A Nurse Visits a 3-Month-Old Infant of a Single Mother