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

Answer and Explanation

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 C

Explanation

Choice A reason: The orientation phase focuses on establishing group norms, trust, and goals, not addressing termination. Discussing endings at this stage could disrupt group cohesion and engagement, as members are building relationships, making this choice incorrect for introducing termination.

Choice B reason: The working phase emphasizes active therapeutic work, such as addressing conflicts and goals. Termination is not the focus, as members are engaged in processing issues. Introducing termination here could distract from ongoing work, making this choice incorrect.

Choice C reason: The termination phase is designed to address group closure, reviewing progress and preparing for separation. Discussing termination aligns with this phase’s focus on processing endings and transitioning, a key aspect of group therapy dynamics, making this the correct choice.

Choice D reason: The pre-group phase involves planning and recruitment, not therapeutic activities like addressing termination. This phase sets the stage for group formation, not closure, making it inappropriate for discussing termination, rendering this choice incorrect.

A. Focusing on the nurse rather than the client B. Making value judgments C. Giving advice D. Using active listening

Correct Answer is A

Explanation

Choice A reason: Focusing on the nurse’s experiences shifts attention from the patient, undermining therapeutic communication. This violates psychiatric nursing principles, which prioritize patient-centered dialogue to build trust and explore feelings, making this a non-therapeutic technique that disrupts effective mental health care.

Choice B reason: Making value judgments imposes the nurse’s beliefs on the patient, creating a judgmental environment. This hinders open communication, fosters defensiveness, and undermines trust, contrary to therapeutic communication goals in mental health nursing, making this a correct choice for non-therapeutic behavior.

Choice C reason: Giving advice assumes the nurse knows best, disempowering the patient and limiting self-exploration. Therapeutic communication encourages patients to find their own solutions, making advice-giving non-therapeutic, as it disrupts autonomy and trust, correctly identifying this as a non-therapeutic technique.

Choice D reason: Active listening, involving empathy and nonverbal cues, is a cornerstone of therapeutic communication. It fosters trust and validates patient feelings, essential in mental health care. This technique enhances therapeutic relationships, making it incorrect as a non-therapeutic communication example.

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Which tasks are safe and appropriate to be performed by a basic-level nurse for a patient suffering from mental illness?

Nursing Test Bank

Naxlex Comprehensive Predictor Exams

In which phase of group therapy should the nurse plan to first address termination?

Correct Answer is C

Explanation

Which of the following are examples of a nurse using non-therapeutic communication techniques? (Select all that apply)

Correct Answer is A

Explanation

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