The nurse and a new nurse (graduate nurse) are caring for a child who will require palliative care. Which statement made by the new nurse would indicate a correct understanding of palliative care?

A. Palliative care serves to hasten death and make the process easier for the family is an incorrect statement. Palliative care is focused on providing relief from symptoms and improving the quality of life, not hastening death.

B. Palliative care provides pain and symptom management and best quality of life for the child is the correct understanding of palliative care. It focuses on managing symptoms and providing support to improve quality of life, regardless of the child’s age or stage of illness.

C. The goal of palliative care is to place the child in a hospice setting at the end of life is not entirely correct. Palliative care can be provided at any stage of a serious illness, not just at the end of life, and it does not automatically mean placement in hospice.

D. The goal of palliative care is to act as the liaison between the family, child, and other health care professionals is a supportive role, but it does not fully define the scope of palliative care, which is focused on symptom management and improving quality of life.

A. Laxatives are not typically used for sickle cell crisis unless the client is experiencing constipation, which is unrelated to the crisis itself.

B. Thyroid replacement medications are used for hypothyroidism and would not be a first-line treatment for sickle cell crisis.

C. Diuretics may be used in conditions like heart failure or kidney disease, but they are not indicated for sickle cell crisis and may worsen dehydration.

D. Pain medications are the correct intervention during a sickle cell crisis. The crisis involves severe pain due to the sickling of red blood cells blocking blood flow to tissues. Opioids like morphine and hydromorphone are commonly administered to manage the severe pain.