A patient is scheduled to undergo a biopsy of a mass in his lung tomorrow morning.He seems to have difficulty grasping the procedure as the nurse explains it to him and repeatedly asks questions such as "What do you mean I'm going to have surgery? What are they going to do?" His voice is tremulous.His respirations are 28/minute,and his pulse is 110/minute.Which of the following initial outcome indicators would be most appropriate?

Question

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At this stage,the nurse's objective is to help the patient understand the procedure he is about to undergo.It appears that anxiety is interfering with his ability to understand the procedure.Therefore an indication of reduced anxiety that relates to the nurse's objective is that the patient is able to understand the procedure.Restoring vital signs to normal range and the patient being able to identify coping strategies are also desirable but are not the initial outcomes being sought at this time.Further,the patient is likely to remain anxious sufficiently to elevate his vital signs until the procure is completed and perhaps until he begins to cope with the results of the procedure,so restoring vital signs to his normal range is probably not realistic at this time (maintaining them at safe levels would,however,be an appropriate outcome).Accepting a cancer diagnosis would be inappropriate unless cancer has been confirmed.

A Patient Is Scheduled to Undergo a Biopsy of a Mass