A new nurse is doing her first admission assessment and is anxious about asking a patient who is considerably older than her for his sexual history.Which statement would be most appropriate for obtaining information about the patient's sexual practices?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Explaining that sexual practices vary helps reduce patient anxiety about the topic by normalizing the full range of sexual practices so that whatever his situation,he need not feel uncomfortable about revealing it."It's your business,of course," implies that you do not have a valid reason to seek the information and in effect suggests that the patient perhaps should not answer the question."You never can tell,it might be helpful" makes the information seem less valid or important for the nurse to pursue and,again,could discourage the patient from responding fully.Asking if the patient has any sexual problems that staff should know about is not unprofessional,but it is a very broad question that may increase a patient's uncertainty about what the nurse wants to hear,thus increasing his anxiety.Defining or giving an example of "sexual problem" would make this inquiry more effective.

A New Nurse Is Doing Her First Admission Assessment and Is