Ch 10 Grief and Loss Book Key Points

Question 1

Grief refers to the:

Answer 1

subjective emotions and affect that are normal responses to the experience of loss.

Question 2

Grieving is the process:

Answer 2

by which a person experiences grief.

Question 3

Types of losses can be identified as:

Answer 3

unfulfilled or unmet human needs.

Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs is a useful model to understand loss as it relates to unfulfilled human needs.

Question 4

Grief work is one of life’s most difficult challenges. The challenge of:

Answer 4

integrating a loss requires all that the person can give of mind, body, and spirit.

Question 5

Because the nurse constantly interacts with clients at various points on the health–illness continuum, he or she must understand:

Answer 5

loss and the process of grieving.

Question 6

The process of grieving has been described by many theorists including:

Answer 6

Kübler-Ross, Bowlby, Engel, and Horowitz.

Question 7

Dimensions of human response include:

Answer 7

cognitive, emotional, spiritual, behavioral, and physiologic.

People may be experiencing more than one phase of the grieving process at a time.

Question 8

Culturally bound reactions to loss are often lost in the:

Answer 8

acculturation to dominant societal norms. Both universal and culture-specific rituals facilitate grieving.

Question 9

Disenfranchised grief often involves:

Answer 9

deaths, mourners, or situations that are not socially supported or sanctioned, or carry a stigma for the mourners.

Question 10

Complicated grieving is a:

Answer 10

response that lies outside the norm. The person may be void of emotion, grieve for a prolonged period, or express feelings that seem out of proportion.

Question 11

__ increase the risk of complicated grieving.

Answer 11

Low self-esteem, distrust of others, a psychiatric disorder, previous suicide threats or attempts, and absent or unhelpful family members

Question 12

Situations considered risk factors for complicated grief in those already vulnerable include:

Answer 12

death of a spouse or child, a sudden unexpected death, and murder.

Question 13

During assessment, the nurse:

Answer 13

observes and listens for cues in what the person thinks and feels and how he or she behaves, and then uses these relevant data to guide the client in the grieving process.

Question 14

__ can be used to help the nurse working with a grieving client.

Answer 14

Crisis theory

Adequate perception, adequate support, and adequate coping are critical factors.

Question 15

Effective communication skills are the key to __

Answer 15

successful assessment and interventions.

Question 16

Interventions focused on the perception of loss include:

Answer 16

exploring the meaning of the loss and allowing adaptive denial, which is the process of gradually adjusting to the reality of a loss.

Question 17

Being there to help the client while assisting him or her in seeking __

Answer 17

other sources of support is an essential intervention.

Question 18

Encouraging the client to care for him or herself promotes __.

Answer 18

adequate coping.

Question 19

To earn the client’s trust, the nurse must examine:

Answer 19

his or her own attitudes about loss and periodically take a self-awareness inventory.