Which tasks are safe and appropriate to be performed by a basic-level nurse for a patient suffering from mental illness?
Teaching coping skills to the patient and family members
Treating major depressive disorder
Prescribing antidepressants
Assessing suicide risk
The Correct Answer is A
Choice A reason: Basic-level nurses, such as LPNs or RNs, can teach coping skills, a standard intervention within their scope. This involves education on stress management, aligning with psychiatric nursing roles to support patient and family well-being, making this the correct choice.
Choice B reason: Treating major depressive disorder requires advanced skills, like prescribing or managing complex therapies, which is beyond a basic-level nurse’s scope. This is typically reserved for advanced practice nurses or physicians, making this choice incorrect.
Choice C reason: Prescribing antidepressants is restricted to advanced practice nurses or physicians, not basic-level nurses. This task involves medical decision-making outside the scope of RNs or LPNs, making it unsafe and inappropriate, thus incorrect.
Choice D reason: Assessing suicide risk requires advanced clinical judgment, often reserved for advanced practice nurses or psychiatrists. While basic-level nurses can observe and report, formal assessment exceeds their scope, making this choice incorrect for their role.
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Correct Answer is B
Explanation
Choice A reason: Comparing the patient’s problems to others minimizes their experience, a non-therapeutic technique. It dismisses feelings, hindering trust and open communication, contrary to psychiatric nursing principles that emphasize validation, making this choice incorrect.
Choice B reason: Asking the patient to suggest solutions encourages self-reflection and empowerment, a therapeutic technique. It fosters autonomy and problem-solving, aligning with patient-centered care in mental health nursing, making this a correct choice for therapeutic communication.
Choice C reason: Expressing understanding and inviting further discussion validates the patient’s feelings, fostering trust. This empathetic, open-ended approach is a hallmark of therapeutic communication in psychiatric care, promoting a safe space for exploration, making this a correct choice.
Choice D reason: Suggesting the patient forget their problems is dismissive and non-therapeutic. It invalidates feelings and discourages exploration, contrary to psychiatric nursing goals of fostering insight and trust, making this choice incorrect for therapeutic communication.
Correct Answer is B
Explanation
Choice A reason: Living in a shelter for 2 years indicates survival but not necessarily resilience, which involves active adaptation and recovery. Prolonged displacement may reflect limited coping, making this choice less indicative of high resilience compared to maintaining relationships.
Choice B reason: Maintaining relationships after significant loss demonstrates resilience, reflecting emotional strength and adaptive coping. Social connections buffer stress and promote recovery, aligning with psychological resilience models, making this the correct choice for the highest resilience level.
Choice C reason: Becoming depressed after a spouse’s death is a normal grief response but indicates lower resilience, as it suggests difficulty adapting. Resilience involves recovering from adversity, not succumbing to depression, making this choice incorrect.
Choice D reason: Taking a temporary job shows problem-solving but is less indicative of resilience than maintaining relationships, which reflects emotional and social adaptation. Financial stability is one aspect, but relational resilience is broader, making this choice less optimal.
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