Which statement shows a nurse has empathy for a patient who made a suicide attempt?

“Suicide is a drastic solution to a problem that may not be such a serious matter.”

“You must have been very upset when you tried to hurt yourself.”

“If you tell me what is troubling you, I can help you solve your problems.”

“It makes me sad to see you going through such a difficult experience.”

Answer and Explanation

The Correct Answer is B

Choice A reason: Minimizing suicide as drastic dismisses the patient’s emotional pain, linked to serotonin deficits and amygdala hyperactivity in depression. This lacks empathy, risking alienation and worsening despair, as it fails to acknowledge the neurobiological severity of suicidal ideation, making it inappropriate.

Choice B reason: Acknowledging intense upset validates the patient’s emotional state, reflecting serotonin-driven despair in suicide attempts. Empathy, engaging mirror neurons, fosters trust and reduces isolation, aligning with therapeutic principles to support neurobiological stabilization and emotional recovery in psychiatric care.

Choice C reason: Offering to solve problems focuses on solutions, not empathy. Suicidal ideation, tied to prefrontal cortex dysfunction, requires emotional validation first. This statement risks dismissing feelings, reducing therapeutic connection, and is less effective than acknowledging the patient’s emotional distress.

Choice D reason: Expressing personal sadness shifts focus to the nurse’s feelings, not the patient’s. Empathy requires reflecting the patient’s emotional state, like despair from serotonin imbalances, to build rapport. This statement, while sympathetic, is less empathic, making it incorrect for demonstrating true empathy.

Nursing Test Bank

Quiz #1: RN Exams Pharmacology Exams Quiz #2: RN Exams Medical-Surgical Exams Quiz #3: RN Exams Fundamentals Exams Quiz #4: RN Exams Maternal-Newborn Exams Quiz #5: RN Exams Anatomy and Physiology Exams Quiz #6: RN Exams Obstetrics and Pediatrics Exams Quiz #7: RN Exams Fluid and Electrolytes Exams Quiz #8: RN Exams Community Health Exams Quiz #9: RN Exams Promoting Health across the lifespan Exams Quiz #10: RN Exams Multidimensional care Exams

Get 100+ Naxlex Exit Exams for $79 Try Naxlex NCLEX-RN (14 Day Free-Trial)

Naxlex Comprehensive Predictor Exams

Quiz #1: Naxlex RN Comprehensive online practice 2019 B with NGN Quiz #2: Naxlex RN Comprehensive Predictor 2023 Quiz #3: Naxlex RN Comprehensive Predictor 2023 Exit Exam A Quiz #4: Naxlex HESI Exit LPN Exam Quiz #5: Naxlex PN Comprehensive Predictor PN 2020 Quiz #6: Naxlex VATI PN Comprehensive Predictor 2020 Quiz #8: Naxlex PN Comprehensive Predictor 2023 - Exam 1 Quiz #10: Naxlex HESI PN Exit exam Quiz #11: Naxlex HESI PN EXIT Exam 2

Free Nursing Study Resources

Correct Answer is A

Explanation

Choice A reason: Clarifying “pusillanimous” seeks specific meaning, ensuring accurate understanding of the patient’s emotional state. Dreams reflecting fear or inadequacy may involve amygdala hyperactivity or serotonin imbalances. This promotes therapeutic communication, addressing emotional distress linked to neurobiological stress responses, making it the most appropriate response.

Choice B reason: Relating personal experience shifts focus from the patient, reducing therapeutic effectiveness. Emotional drainage, possibly tied to REM sleep disruptions or cortisol spikes, requires exploration, not nurse self-disclosure. This risks dismissing the patient’s unique neurobiological experience, making it inappropriate for clarification.

Choice C reason: Assuming discomfort generalizes the dream’s impact without clarifying “pusillanimous.” Emotional drainage may reflect amygdala-driven stress responses, but this response lacks specificity. Clarification requires direct exploration of the term to understand its emotional and neurobiological significance, making this less effective.

Choice D reason: Summarizing poor sleep oversimplifies the emotional drainage, potentially linked to serotonin dysregulation or heightened stress responses. It fails to explore “pusillanimous,” missing the dream’s specific emotional content. Clarification requires detailed inquiry into the term’s meaning, making this response inadequate.

A. To arise slowly from bed B. To report muscle stiffness C. To chew sugarless gum D. To increase dietary fiber

Correct Answer is B

Explanation

Choice A reason: Arising slowly addresses orthostatic hypotension, a side effect of alpha-1 receptor blockade, not dopamine effects. First-generation antipsychotics primarily block D2 receptors, affecting motor and cognitive pathways, not vascular tone. Hypotension is unrelated to dopaminergic effects, making this teaching point scientifically inaccurate.

Choice B reason: Dopamine D2 receptor blockade in the nigrostriatal pathway causes extrapyramidal symptoms, like muscle stiffness, in first-generation antipsychotics. This mimics Parkinson’s disease due to reduced dopamine signaling, impairing motor control. Teaching patients to report stiffness ensures early detection and management, aligning with the neuropharmacological impact of these drugs.

Choice C reason: Chewing sugarless gum addresses dry mouth, an anticholinergic side effect, not dopaminergic. First-generation antipsychotics block muscarinic receptors, not dopamine, causing reduced salivation. While common, this is unrelated to dopaminergic effects, making this teaching point irrelevant for the specified drug mechanism.

Choice D reason: Increasing dietary fiber addresses constipation, another anticholinergic effect, not dopaminergic. Dopamine blockade affects motor and reward systems, not gastrointestinal motility, which is regulated by muscarinic receptors. This teaching point does not correspond to the dopaminergic effects of first-generation antipsychotics, rendering it incorrect.

View Question and Answer

Whether you are a student looking to ace your exams or a practicing nurse seeking to enhance your expertise , our nursing education contents will empower you with the confidence and competence to make a difference in the lives of patients and become a respected leader in the healthcare field.

Visit Naxlex, invest in your future and unlock endless possibilities with our unparalleled nursing education contents today

Which statement shows a nurse has empathy for a patient who made a suicide attempt?

Nursing Test Bank

Naxlex Comprehensive Predictor Exams

A patient says to the nurse, “I dreamed I was pusillanimous. When I woke up, I felt emotionally drained, as though I hadn’t rested well.” Which comment would be appropriate if the nurse seeks clarification?

Correct Answer is A

Explanation

A patient is taking a first-generation antipsychotic medication. What should the nurse teach about the drug’s strong dopaminergic effect?

Correct Answer is B

Explanation

A nurse explains to a nursing student how the therapeutic relationship differs from a social relationship. What is the best explanation for the therapeutic relationship between the nurse and patient?

Planning for patients diagnosed with mental illness is facilitated by understanding that inpatient hospitalization is generally reserved for a patient presenting with what characteristic?

The nursing student understands that the purpose of completing a process recording for the nurse-patient interview is to:

What best explains the importance of epidemiology in understanding the impact of mental disorders?

How can the mental health nurse best advocate for individuals with mental illness and prevent stigmatization?

Which remark by a patient indicates passage from the orientation phase to the working phase of a nurse-patient relationship?

A patient presents with anxiety, increased heart rate, and fear. The nurse suspects the activation of which neurotransmitter?

A client is newly prescribed a medication that will block the effects of histamine for the treatment of a mental health disorder. The client asks, “What side effects should I anticipate with this new medication?” Which response by the nurse is accurate?