A client is hospitalized in the end stage of terminal cancer. His family members are sitting at his bedside. What can the nurse do to best aid the family at this time?
A. Limit the time visitors may stay so they do not become overwhelmed by the situation.
B. Avoid telling family members about the client’s actual condition so they will not lose hope.
C. Discourage spiritual practices because this will have little connection to the client at this time.
D. Find simple and appropriate care activities for the family to perform.
Correct Answer: D. Find simple and appropriate care activities for the family to perform.
It is helpful for the nurse to find simple care activities for the family to perform, such as feeding the client, washing the client’s face, combing hair, and filling out the client’s menu. This helps the family demonstrate their caring for the client and enables the client to feel their closeness and concern. a. Older adults often become particularly lonely at night and may feel more secure if a family member stays at the bedside during the night.
Option A: The nurse should allow visitors to remain with dying clients at any time if the client wants them. It is up to the family to determine if they are feeling overwhelmed, not the nurse. Provide family-focused interventions that assist parents in connecting or reconnecting with their existing families, friends, and networks of support as a means of re-establishing coherence and meaning as they go forward.
Option B: Truthful and open communication between the healthcare provider and patient is essential for trust in the relationship and for respect for autonomy. Withholding pertinent medical information from patients in the belief that disclosure is medically contraindicated creates a conflict between the healthcare provider’s obligations to promote patient welfare and to respect patient autonomy.
Option C: It is important to keep in mind that there are numerous individual, familial, and cultural differences that make responding appropriately to another person’s grief anything but a formula. The United States, as most Western countries, has a variety of cultural, religious, and ethnic variations that mediate and modulate the experience of grief and mourning.