Chapter 19: Palliative and Hospice Care
Linton: Medical-Surgical Nursing, 7th Edition
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. A nurse is caring for a patient who is terminally ill whose religion is Orthodox Jew: This
patient’s physician’s orders specify “do not resuscitate” (DNR): The patient is alone and
is having signs of impending death: What action should the nurse implement?
a. Notify the family:
b. Wait until the patient dies and then notify the family:
c. Transfer the body to the mortuary or the morgue immediately after death:
d. Stay with the patient until death occurs, prepare the body, and then call the family:
ANS: A
Only designated Orthodox Jewish persons or a Jewish burial service may care for the
body: The dying person is not left alone: The body is not left alone between death and
burial, which must occur within 24 hours: The body is not to be touched for up to 30
minutes after death:
DIF: Cognitive Level: Comprehension REF: p: 325 OBJ: 5
TOP: Cultural Considerations KEY: Nursing Process Step:
Implementation
MSC: NCLEX: Psychosocial Integrity: Psychosocial Adaptation
2. In caring for a dying patient who is grieving, a nurse bases patient care on the theory that
grief is helpful and assists the person in accepting the reality of death: What is this type of
grief is called?
a. Dysfunctional
b. Unresolved
c. Uncomplicated
d. Maladaptive
ANS: C
, Uncomplicated grief assists the person in accepting the reality of death:
DIF: Cognitive Level: Knowledge REF: p: 321 OBJ: 2
TOP: Grief KEY: Nursing Process Step: Planning
MSC: NCLEX: Psychosocial Integrity: Coping and Adaptation
3. A nurse is on duty in the emergency department when a patient is brought in who has
died almost immediately after admission: The family states that the patient has had no
history of medical problems and that no apparent reason for death is known: What should
occur in this situation?
a. The police must be notified:
b. The family may choose to have an autopsy performed:
c. An autopsy is required by law, and the coroner or medical examiner must be
notified:
d. The body must be held at the hospital for 24 hours:
ANS: C
Under law, in most states, an autopsy is required if a person expires by suicide,
homicide, within 24 hours of admission to a health care facility, or from unknown
causes:
DIF: Cognitive Level: Comprehension REF: p: 332 OBJ: 7
TOP: Autopsy KEY: Nursing Process Step: Implementation
MSC: NCLEX: Safe, Effective Care Environment: Coordinated Care
4. A nurse is preparing a patient’s body after death and discovers that the patient’s dentures
were not in his mouth before death: What action should the nurse implement?
a. Insert them gently into the mouth:
b. Give them to the family:
c. Throw them away:
d. Send them to waste management to be disposed of properly:
ANS: A
Dentures may be inserted gently to maintain the normal facial appearance: If the
dentures cannot be inserted easily, do not force them:
DIF: Cognitive Level: Application REF: p: 332 OBJ: 7
Linton: Medical-Surgical Nursing, 7th Edition
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. A nurse is caring for a patient who is terminally ill whose religion is Orthodox Jew: This
patient’s physician’s orders specify “do not resuscitate” (DNR): The patient is alone and
is having signs of impending death: What action should the nurse implement?
a. Notify the family:
b. Wait until the patient dies and then notify the family:
c. Transfer the body to the mortuary or the morgue immediately after death:
d. Stay with the patient until death occurs, prepare the body, and then call the family:
ANS: A
Only designated Orthodox Jewish persons or a Jewish burial service may care for the
body: The dying person is not left alone: The body is not left alone between death and
burial, which must occur within 24 hours: The body is not to be touched for up to 30
minutes after death:
DIF: Cognitive Level: Comprehension REF: p: 325 OBJ: 5
TOP: Cultural Considerations KEY: Nursing Process Step:
Implementation
MSC: NCLEX: Psychosocial Integrity: Psychosocial Adaptation
2. In caring for a dying patient who is grieving, a nurse bases patient care on the theory that
grief is helpful and assists the person in accepting the reality of death: What is this type of
grief is called?
a. Dysfunctional
b. Unresolved
c. Uncomplicated
d. Maladaptive
ANS: C
, Uncomplicated grief assists the person in accepting the reality of death:
DIF: Cognitive Level: Knowledge REF: p: 321 OBJ: 2
TOP: Grief KEY: Nursing Process Step: Planning
MSC: NCLEX: Psychosocial Integrity: Coping and Adaptation
3. A nurse is on duty in the emergency department when a patient is brought in who has
died almost immediately after admission: The family states that the patient has had no
history of medical problems and that no apparent reason for death is known: What should
occur in this situation?
a. The police must be notified:
b. The family may choose to have an autopsy performed:
c. An autopsy is required by law, and the coroner or medical examiner must be
notified:
d. The body must be held at the hospital for 24 hours:
ANS: C
Under law, in most states, an autopsy is required if a person expires by suicide,
homicide, within 24 hours of admission to a health care facility, or from unknown
causes:
DIF: Cognitive Level: Comprehension REF: p: 332 OBJ: 7
TOP: Autopsy KEY: Nursing Process Step: Implementation
MSC: NCLEX: Safe, Effective Care Environment: Coordinated Care
4. A nurse is preparing a patient’s body after death and discovers that the patient’s dentures
were not in his mouth before death: What action should the nurse implement?
a. Insert them gently into the mouth:
b. Give them to the family:
c. Throw them away:
d. Send them to waste management to be disposed of properly:
ANS: A
Dentures may be inserted gently to maintain the normal facial appearance: If the
dentures cannot be inserted easily, do not force them:
DIF: Cognitive Level: Application REF: p: 332 OBJ: 7
