C HAPTER 34: P EDIATRIC E MERGENCIES
1. Which nursing action would be most appropriate to assist a preschool -age child
in coping with the emergency department experience?
a. Explain the procedures and give the child some time to prepare.
b. Remind the child that she is a big girl.
c. Avoid the use of bandages.
d. Use positive terms and avoid terms such as shot and cut.
ANS: D
Using positive terms and avoiding words that have frightening c onnotations
assist the child in coping. Preschool-age children should be told about
procedures immediately before they are done. Time to prepare only allows
time for fantasies and increased anxiety. Children should not be shamed into
cooperation. Bandages are important to preschool-aged children. Children in
this age group believe that their insides can leak out and that bandages stop
this from happening.
2. Which action should the nurse incorporate into a care plan for a 14 -year-old child
in the emergency department?
a. Limit the number of choices to be made by the adolescent.
b. Insist that parents remain with the adolescent.
c. Provide clear explanations and encourage questions.
d. Give rewards for cooperation with procedures.
ANS: C
, Adolescents are capable of abstract thinking and can understand explanations.
They should be offered the opportunity to ask questions and make decisions.
Adolescents should have the choice of whether parents remain with them.
They are very modest, and this modesty should be respected. Giving rewards
such as stickers for cooperation with treatments or procedures is more
appropriate for the younger child.
3. The emergency department nurse notices that the mother of a young child is
making a lot of phone calls and getting advice from her friends about what she
should do. This behavior is an indication of which of the following?
a. Stress
b. Healthy coping skills
c. Attention-getting behaviors
d. Low self-esteem
ANS: A
Hyperactive behavior such as making a lot of phone calls and enlisting
everyones opinions is a sign of stress. This is not a healthy coping skill and
may be an attention-getting behavior or indicative of the mother having low
self-esteem, but is more likely an indicator of stress.
4. A preschool child in the emergency department has a r espiratory rate of 10
breaths per minute. How should the nurse interpret this finding?
a. The child is relaxed.
b. Respiratory failure is likely.
c. This child is in respiratory distress.
d. The childs condition is improving.
ANS: B
1. Which nursing action would be most appropriate to assist a preschool -age child
in coping with the emergency department experience?
a. Explain the procedures and give the child some time to prepare.
b. Remind the child that she is a big girl.
c. Avoid the use of bandages.
d. Use positive terms and avoid terms such as shot and cut.
ANS: D
Using positive terms and avoiding words that have frightening c onnotations
assist the child in coping. Preschool-age children should be told about
procedures immediately before they are done. Time to prepare only allows
time for fantasies and increased anxiety. Children should not be shamed into
cooperation. Bandages are important to preschool-aged children. Children in
this age group believe that their insides can leak out and that bandages stop
this from happening.
2. Which action should the nurse incorporate into a care plan for a 14 -year-old child
in the emergency department?
a. Limit the number of choices to be made by the adolescent.
b. Insist that parents remain with the adolescent.
c. Provide clear explanations and encourage questions.
d. Give rewards for cooperation with procedures.
ANS: C
, Adolescents are capable of abstract thinking and can understand explanations.
They should be offered the opportunity to ask questions and make decisions.
Adolescents should have the choice of whether parents remain with them.
They are very modest, and this modesty should be respected. Giving rewards
such as stickers for cooperation with treatments or procedures is more
appropriate for the younger child.
3. The emergency department nurse notices that the mother of a young child is
making a lot of phone calls and getting advice from her friends about what she
should do. This behavior is an indication of which of the following?
a. Stress
b. Healthy coping skills
c. Attention-getting behaviors
d. Low self-esteem
ANS: A
Hyperactive behavior such as making a lot of phone calls and enlisting
everyones opinions is a sign of stress. This is not a healthy coping skill and
may be an attention-getting behavior or indicative of the mother having low
self-esteem, but is more likely an indicator of stress.
4. A preschool child in the emergency department has a r espiratory rate of 10
breaths per minute. How should the nurse interpret this finding?
a. The child is relaxed.
b. Respiratory failure is likely.
c. This child is in respiratory distress.
d. The childs condition is improving.
ANS: B
