Palliative care supports the patient's family as well as the patient.
Correct Answer
True
True. Palliative care is person- and family-focused care. It relieves the patient's symptoms and suffering, includes the family in planning and care, and supports family members through the illness.
Category: Palliative and Hospice Care
Question 2
Hospice care is commonly provided in the patient's own home.
Correct Answer
True
True. Home is a common hospice setting and allows the patient to die at home if that is the wish. Hospice can also be provided in hospitals, long-term care facilities and dedicated hospice facilities.
Category: Palliative and Hospice Care
Question 3
As a hospice patient's condition deteriorates, nursing visits are likely to increase.
Correct Answer
True
True. The hospice nurse assesses the patient at each visit and reports changes to the team. As the condition worsens and needs grow, the plan of care usually calls for more frequent visits.
Category: Palliative and Hospice Care
Question 4
When complete relief of a symptom is not possible, the goal is to reduce it to a level the patient can tolerate.
Correct Answer
True
True. End-of-life symptom management aims for comfort, and when a symptom cannot be fully relieved the goal is a tolerable level, using both drug and nondrug measures.
Category: Symptom Management
Question 5
Preparing a family ahead of time for expected changes, such as weight loss and changes in breathing, can reduce panic when the changes occur.
Correct Answer
True
True. Families who know which changes to expect near death are less likely to panic when they appear. The nurse teaches about appetite loss, cognitive decline, skin changes and changes in breathing.
Category: Signs of Approaching Death
Question 6
Euthanasia is illegal throughout the United States.
Correct Answer
True
True. Euthanasia, in which another person directly causes the death, is illegal in every U.S. state. It differs from provider-assisted death, in which the patient takes a prescribed medication and which is legal in some jurisdictions.
Category: Advance Care Planning and Ethics
Question 7
Mourning is the outward expression of grief, such as holding a memorial service.
Correct Answer
True
True. Grief is the internal emotional state after a loss, while mourning is the set of outward actions that express it, such as wearing black, holding a funeral or keeping a journal.
Category: Grief and Psychosocial Care
Question 8
A patient may share spiritual concerns with a nurse before raising them with the provider or family.
Correct Answer
True
True. Patients often open up to nurses first about spiritual needs such as finding peace or making amends. Active listening and referral to the chaplain or social worker support this care.
Category: Grief and Psychosocial Care
Question 9
Children who are shielded from the truth about a dying family member often end up feeling isolated.
Correct Answer
True
True. Protecting children from the truth tends to isolate them, and mixed messages cause confusion and anger. Honest, age-appropriate communication that follows the child's lead is recommended.
Category: Supporting Families and Caregivers
Question 10
Unresolved grief among health-care workers can contribute to illness and burnout.
Correct Answer
True
True. Providers who care for many dying patients can accumulate unresolved sadness, sometimes called shadow grief. Facing these feelings and talking with the team helps prevent illness and burnout.
Category: Supporting Families and Caregivers
Question 11
Giving advice about what the patient should decide is a recommended end-of-life communication technique.
Correct Answer
False
False. Nurses avoid giving advice in end-of-life conversations. They use open-ended questions, allow pauses for reflection and confirm understanding so that decisions reflect the patient's own values.
Category: Communication
Question 12
A durable power of attorney for health care takes effect only after the patient has died.
Correct Answer
False
False. A durable power of attorney names a person to make decisions when the patient can no longer make them during life. It guides care while the patient is alive but unable to decide.
Category: Advance Care Planning and Ethics
Question 13
Palliative care is delivered only in hospitals.
Correct Answer
False
False. Palliative care is provided in hospitals, nursing homes, outpatient clinics and the home. The setting depends on the patient's wishes, the acuity of needs and insurance coverage.
Category: Palliative and Hospice Care
Question 14
An advance directive is best completed after the patient has lost the ability to make decisions.
Correct Answer
False
False. An advance directive records end-of-life wishes while the patient can still make decisions. Completing it early helps the family and team avoid making hard choices in a crisis.
Category: Advance Care Planning and Ethics
Question 15
A single brief interview is usually enough to fully understand a patient's cultural beliefs about death.
Correct Answer
False
False. Understanding a patient's cultural and spiritual beliefs about death often takes several visits. Nurses choose the timing and setting of sensitive conversations with care and let the patient decline or take time to answer.
Category: Communication
Question 16
A nurse's personal attitude toward death has no effect on the care given to dying patients.
Correct Answer
False
False. A nurse's own attitude toward death can block holistic care. Self-reflection and discussion with colleagues help nurses recognize their beliefs so they do not interfere with care.
Category: Supporting Families and Caregivers
Question 17
When a family's way of coping differs from the nurse's values, the nurse should set aside the family's wishes.
Correct Answer
False
False. A family's coping may differ from the values of the nurse or the team, but the wishes of the patient and family are respected as fully as possible.
Category: Grief and Psychosocial Care
Question 18
Involving family members in care tends to increase their sense of powerlessness.
Correct Answer
False
False. Families of dying patients often feel powerless and then guilty about it. Including them in care and teaching them what to expect helps ease these feelings.
Category: Supporting Families and Caregivers
Question 19
When talking with a dying child, the nurse should explain every detail of the illness even before the child asks.
Correct Answer
False
False. Nurses follow the child's lead, answer what the child asks in age-appropriate language and avoid overresponding. What the child wants to know may change over time.
Category: Supporting Families and Caregivers
Question 20
Symptom management at the end of life relies on medications alone.
Correct Answer
False
False. Nondrug measures such as positioning, guided relaxation, a fan and equipment like supplemental oxygen are used along with medications to keep the patient comfortable.
Category: Symptom Management