Chapter 17: Communication and Relational Practice

Question 1

What characterizes nurses who make the best communicators?
a. Developing critical thinking skills.
b. Liking different kinds of people.
c. Learning effective psychomotor skills.
d. Maintaining perceptual biases

Answer 1

a. Developing critical thinking skills.

Question 2

A nurse believes that the nurse–patient relationship is a partnership and that both are equal
participants. Which term should the nurse use to describe this belief?
a. Critical thinking.
b. Authentic.
c. Mutuality.
d. Attending.
.

Answer 2

c. Mutuality.

Question 3

A nurse wants to present information about flu immunizations to older persons in the
community. Which type of communication should the nurse use?
a. Interpersonal.
b. Public.
c. Transpersonal.
d. Small group.

Answer 3

b. Public.

Question 4

Which communication technique is being used most effectively with which scenario?
a. Interpersonal communication to change negative self-talk to positive self-talk.
b. Small group communication to present information to an audience.
c. Intrapersonal communication to build strong teams.
d. Transpersonal communication to enhance meditation.

Answer 4

d. Transpersonal communication to enhance meditation.

Question 5

A nurse is standing beside the patient’s bed. The nurse asks, “How are you doing?” The
patient responds, “I don’t feel good.” In this situation, which element is the feedback?
a. The nurse.
b. The patient.
c. “How are you doing?”
d. “I don’t feel good.”

Answer 5

d. “I don’t feel good.”

Question 6

A nurse is sitting at the patient’s bedside documenting a nursing history. Which zone of
personal space is the nurse using?
a. Intimate.
b. Personal.
c. Social.
d. Public.

Answer 6

b. Personal.

Question 7

A smiling patient angrily states, “I will not cough and deep breathe.” How will the nurse
interpret this finding?
a. The patient’s personal space was violated.
b. The patient’s affect is inappropriate.
c. The patient’s vocabulary is poor.
d. The patient’s denotative meaning is wrong.

Answer 7

b. The patient’s affect is inappropriate.
.

Question 8

The nurse asks a patient where the pain is, and the patient responds by pointing to the area of
pain. Which form of communication did the patient use?
a. Verbal.
b. Nonverbal.
c. Intonation.
d. Vocabulary.

Answer 8

b. Nonverbal.

Question 9

Before meeting the patient, a nurse talks to other caregivers about the patient. The nurse is in
which phase of the helping relationship?
a. Preinteraction.
b. Orientation.
c. Working.
d. Termination.

Answer 9

a. Preinteraction.
.

Question 10

A nurse is sitting at the patient’s bedside documenting a nursing history. Which zone of
personal space is the nurse using?
a. Intimate.
b. Personal.
c. Social.
d. Public.

Answer 10

b. Personal.

Question 11

During the initial home visit, a home health nurse lets the patient know that the visits are
expected to end in about a month. The nurse is in which phase of the helping relationship?
a. Preinteraction.
b. Orientation.
c. Working.
d. Termination.

Answer 11

b. Orientation.

Question 12

A nurse and patient take action to meet health-related goals. The nurse is in which phase of
the helping relationship?
a. Preinteraction.
b. Orientation.
c. Working.
d. Termination.

Answer 12

c. Working.

Question 13

The nurse is in the process of conducting an admission interview with the patient. At one
point in the discussion, the patient has provided information that the nurse would like to
clarify. Using the technique of clarification, how does the nurse respond?
a. “I’m not sure that I understand what you mean by that statement.”
b. “The electrocardiogram records information about your heart’s electrical activity.”
c. “Let’s look at the problem you have had with your medication at home.”
d. “What’s your biggest concern at the moment?”

Answer 13

a. “I’m not sure that I understand what you mean by that statement.”

Question 14

The patient draws back when the nurse reaches over the side rails to take his blood pressure.
What should the nurse do first to promote effective communication?
a. Tell the patient that the blood pressure can be taken at a later time.
b. Rotate the nurses who are assigned to take the patient’s blood pressure.
c. Continue to perform the procedure quickly and quietly.
d. Apologize for startling the patient and explain the need for contact.

Answer 14

d. Apologize for startling the patient and explain the need for contact.

Question 15

A patient has trouble speaking words, and the patient’s speech is garbled. Which nursing
diagnosis is most appropriate for this patient?
a. Hopelessness.
b. Impaired verbal communication.
c. Hearing loss.
d. Self-care deficit

Answer 15

b. Impaired verbal communication.

Question 16

Which person is the best referral for a patient who speaks a foreign language?
a. A family member.
b. A speech therapist.
c. An interpreter.
d. A mental health nurse specialist

Answer 16

c. An interpreter.

Question 17

A nurse is using SOLER to facilitate active listening. Which technique should the nurse use
for R?
a. Relax.
b. Respect.
c. Reminisce.
d. Reassure.

Answer 17

a. Relax.

Question 18

An older patient is wearing a hearing aid. Which technique should the nurse use to facilitate
communication?
a. Speak clearly and loudly.
b. Turn off the television.
c. Chew gum.
d. Use at least 14-point print.

Answer 18

b. Turn off the television.

Question 19

When making rounds, the nurse finds a patient who is not able to sleep because of anticipation
of surgery in the morning. Which therapeutic response is most appropriate?
a. “It will be okay. Your surgeon will talk to you in the morning.”
b. “Why can’t you sleep? You have the best surgeon in the hospital.”
c. “Don’t worry. The surgeon ordered a sleeping pill to help you sleep.”
d. “It must be difficult not to know what the surgeon will find. What can I do to
help?”

Answer 19

d. “It must be difficult not to know what the surgeon will find. What can I do to
help?”

Question 20

Which situation will prompt the nurse to intervene and follow up on the unregulated care
provider’s behaviour?
a. The unregulated care provider is calling the older patient “honey.”
b. The unregulated care provider is facing the older patient when talking.
c. The unregulated care provider cleans the older patient’s glasses.
d. The unregulated care provider allows time for the older patient to respond.

Answer 20

a. The unregulated care provider is calling the older patient “honey.”

Question 21

A confused older person is wearing thick glasses and a hearing aid. Which intervention is a
priority to facilitate communication?
a. Focusing on tasks to be completed.
b. Allowing time for the patient to respond.
c. Limiting conversations with the patient.
d. Using gestures and other nonverbal cues.

Answer 21

b. Allowing time for the patient to respond.

Question 22

The staff is having a hard time getting an older person to communicate. Which technique
should the nurse suggest the staff use?
a. Allowing the patient to reminisce.
b. Trying to change topics often.
c. Involving only the patient in conversations.
d. Asking the patient for explanations.

Answer 22

a. Allowing the patient to reminisce.

Question 23

Which of the following patients will cause the greatest communication concerns for a nurse?
a. A patient who is alert, has strong self-esteem, and is hungry.
b. A patient who is oriented, pain free, and blind.
c. A patient who is cooperative, depressed, and hard of hearing.
d. A patient who is dyspneic, has a tracheostomy, and is anxious.

Answer 23

d. A patient who is dyspneic, has a tracheostomy, and is anxious.

Question 24

A patient is aphasic, and the nurse notices that the patient’s hands shake intermittently. Which
nursing action is most appropriate to facilitate communication?
a. Use a picture board.
b. Use pen and paper.
c. Use an interpreter.
d. Use a hearing aid.

Answer 24

a. Use a picture board.

Question 25

What is characteristic of a nurse using critical thinking to enhance communication with
patients?
a. Showing sympathy appropriately.
b. Using automatic responses fluently.
c. Self-examining personal communication skills
d. Demonstrating passive remarks accurately

Answer 25

.
c. Self-examining personal communication skills

Question 26

A patient says, “You are the worst nurse I have ever had.” Which response by the nurse is the
most assertive?
a. “If I were you, I’d feel grateful for a nurse like me.”
b. “I feel uncomfortable hearing that statement.”
c. “How can you say that when I have been checking on you regularly?”
d. “You shouldn’t say things like that, it is not right.”

Answer 26

b. “I feel uncomfortable hearing that statement.”

Question 27

Which critical thinking standards should the nurse use to ensure sound effective
communication with patients?
a. Faith, spiritual expression, and humility.
b. Supportiveness, independent attitude, and self-confidence.
c. Self-confidence, spiritual expression, and independent attitude.
d. Self-confidence, humility, and independent attitude.

Answer 27

d. Self-confidence, humility, and independent attitude.