Chapter 46 Flashcards
Which of the following group of terms best defines spiritual distress? A) Spirituality, religion B) Alienation, despair C) Faith, prayer D) Forgiveness, purpose
B) Alienation, despair
Terms that define spiritual distress include spiritual pain, alienation, anxiety, guilt, anger, loss, and despair
What spiritual need is believed to underlie all religious traditions and is common to all people? A) Love and relatedness B) Physical hygiene C) Religious education D) Church services
A) Love and relatedness
According to Shelly and Fish (1988), there are three spiritual needs underlying all religious traditions and common t people: (1) the needs for meaning and purpose, (2) love and relatedness, and (3) forgiveness
Nurses provide care to meet needs in all the human dimensions. What is one intervention nurses can implement to m
spiritual needs?
A) Refer all questions to a spiritual advisor.
B) Remind clients that nurses are not ministers.
C) Avoid any discussion of religion or spirituality.
D) Offer a compassionate presence.
D) Offer a compassionate presence.
Although nurses may differ in their beliefs about how involved they should become in meeting spiritual needs, it is impossible to ignore the spiritual dimensions of health. Nurses can assist clients to meet spiritual needs through a variety
of interventions, including offering a compassionate presence.
A client expresses confidence in his traditional healer to relieve symptoms of an illness. What is the client demonstrating? A) Hope B) Spirituality C) Faith D) Charity
C) Faith
Faith generally refers to a confident belief in something for which there is no proof or material evidence. It can involve a
person, idea, or thing and is usually followed by action related to the ideals and values of the belief. A client who has faith in a health care provider is more likely to follow the plan of care, and experience benefits.
A client tells the nurse, “I am an atheist. I do not believe in God.” What would be an appropriate response by the nurse?
A) “Well, I believe in God and you should, too.”
B) “I respect what you choose to believe in.”
C) “How can you deny the existence of God?”
D) “What makes you think you are an atheist?
B) “I respect what you choose to believe in.”
An atheist is a person who denies the existence of God, guided by philosophies of living that do not include a religious faith. The atheist deserves respect for what he or she chooses to believe.
A client states that his life has meaning and purpose, he feels loved, and has experienced forgiveness in his life. What is
the term that describes this state of spirituality?
A) Spiritual belief
B) Spiritual alienation
C) Spiritual health
D) Spiritual bliss
C) Spiritual health
Defined most simply, spiritual health or well-being is the condition that exists when the universal spiritual needs for meaning and purpose, love and belonging, and forgiveness are met.
What factor is necessary to express and experience spirituality? A) Quiet time in isolation from others B) Membership in an organized religion C) Long-term suffering and pain D) Connectedness with other people
D) Connectedness with other people
People express and experience spirituality through love and connectedness with other people. Love develops from the basic human need to love and be loved and is necessary to spiritual wholeness.
While reviewing the chart for an assigned client before beginning care, a student notes that the client does not belong to a specific religion. Based on this information, what should the student interpret about the client?
A) A person may be deeply spiritual but not profess a religion.
B) Belonging to an organized religion is essential to spirituality.
C) The student will not have to consider the spiritual dimension.
D) The client should be referred for spiritual counseling
A) A person may be deeply spiritual but not profess a religion.
Religion refers to an organized system of beliefs about a higher power. A nurse should not interpret the fact that a client
does not belong to an organized religion to mean the client has no spiritual needs; a person may be deeply spiritual yet
not profess a religion.
Which of the following health care practices may be influenced by a young woman’s religion? A) Yearly mammograms B) Annual physicals C) Birth-control measures D) Health assessments
C) Birth-control measures
Certain practices associated with health care may have religious significance for a client. For example, acceptable birthcontrol measures are determined by some religious faiths
How can religious, life-affirming influences be compared with basic human needs?
A) Life-affirming influences encourage self-actualization.
B) Life-affirming influences enhance life.
C) Life-affirming influences meet basic physiologic needs.
D) Life-affirming influences cultivate wisdom
A) Life-affirming influences encourage self-actualization.
Religious influences may be life affirming or life denying. Life-affirming influences encourage self-actualization, the highest level of basic human needs.
Some religious beliefs may conflict with prevalent health care practices. For example, what type of treatment is
prohibited by the doctrine of Jehovah’s Witnesses?
A) Using narcotics to treat pain
B) Administering blood transfusions
C) Minor surgical procedures
D) Diagnostic x-ray examinations
B) Administering blood transfusions
Sometimes religious beliefs conflict with prevalent health care practices. For example, the doctrine of Jehovah’s
Witnesses prohibits blood transfusions
Each of the major religions has several characteristics in common. What is one of those characteristics?
A) Ministers are addressed as “Reverend.”
B) An ethical code defines right and wrong.
C) Communion is delivered the same way.
D) Men and women are viewed as equals
B) An ethical code defines right and wrong
Each of the major religious groups has several characteristics in common. One of those characteristics is an ethical code
that defines right and wrong.
A nurse fills the following roles in the community: health educator, personal health counselor, referral agent, trainer of
volunteers, developer of support groups, integrator of faith and health, and health advocate. What is the term for this
type of nurse?
A) Parish nurse
B) Religious nurse
C) Visiting nurse
D) Home health nurse
A) Parish nurse’
Parish nurses are not “visiting nurses” or “home health nurses” who provide direct bedside care. The key roles of the parish nurse are health educator, personal health counselor, referral agent, trainer of volunteers, developer of support
groups, integrator of faith and health, and health advocate
A nurse is caring for a hospitalized child. What would the nurse consider to meet the spiritual needs of the child?
A) Nothing; children do not have a spiritual self.
B) Complete information from the child’s parents.
C) Only terminally ill children believe in God.
D) Children have definite perceptions of God
D) Children have definite perceptions of God
Heller studied spirituality in children. In his study of 40 children between the ages of 4 and 12 years, he found that the children had definite perceptions of God
The parents of an infant are members of a faith-healing group. They refuse to give the baby antibiotics for meningitis. What does the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend for cases such as this?
A) Respect for the parents’ wishes, even if the baby dies
B) Exemption from child abuse charges
C) Application of child abuse and neglect statutes
D) Refusal to treat the child no matter how ill
C) Application of child abuse and neglect statutes
Various faith-healing groups are asking for protection (under the veil of religious freedom) of their right to make decisions about medical care, even if those decisions result in the death of a family member, including a child. The American Academy of Pediatrics is urging that all child abuse, neglect, and medical neglect statutes be applied without
potential or actual exemption for religious beliefs
A nurse is using Anandarajah and Hight’s (2001) HOPE acronym to assess a client’s spirituality and religious beliefs.
Which of the following is a component of this acronym?
A) H = heaven
B) O = openness
C) P = personal spirituality
D) E = eternity
C) P = personal spirituality
One simple guide is Anandarajah and Hight’s (2001) HOPE acronym:
H—Sources of hope, meaning, comfort, strength, peace, love, and connection; O—Organized religion; P—Personal
spirituality and practice; E—Effects on medical care and end-of-life issue.
A client scheduled for complex heart surgery has been reading the Bible for hours each day, cries often, and is not
sleeping well. What might these observations cue the nurse about the client?
A) These behaviors are expected before major surgery.
B) These behaviors are signs of spiritual distress.
C) Family members live far away and the client is lonely.
D) The client is naturally emotional and reactive
B) These behaviors are signs of spiritual distress.
Many clients find it difficult to talk about their spiritual beliefs and problems but may have behavioral indicators of spiritual distress. Significant behavioral observations include sudden changes in spiritual practices, mood changes, sudden interest in spiritual matters, and disturbed sleep
A client verbalizes to a mental health counselor that his life is meaningless since his wife divorced him and that he no
longer wants to live. What nursing diagnosis, resulting from his spiritual distress, would be appropriate?
A) Sexual Dysfunction
B) Fear
C) Powerlessness
D) Risk for Self-Directed Violence
D) Risk for Self-Directed Violence
Spiritual distress may affect other areas of human functioning. Spiritual distress may be the etiology of the nursing diagnosis “Risk for Self-Directed Violence” related to feelings that life is meaningless
A nurse is caring for a hospitalized client. What intervention can the nurse use to help the client continue normal
spiritual practices?
A) Discuss the nurse’s own religious beliefs with the client.
B) Tell the client that spiritual practices can be resumed later.
C) Request dietary consultation for the client’s dietary restrictions.
D) Request medication from the physician to calm the client.
C) Request dietary consultation for the client’s dietary restrictions
It is a responsibility of the nurse to help the client in an unfamiliar environment continue normal spiritual practices. One intervention that can facilitate the practice of religion is to attempt to meet the client’s dietary restrictions.
Which of the following statements by a nurse would nurture spirituality by promoting love and relatedness?
A) “I know you are angry about your diagnosis.”
B) “Tell me about what you do in your job.”
C) “Tell me about how you get along with others.”
D) “How often do you read the Bible each day?”
C) “Tell me about how you get along with others.”
The nurse can help the client nurture his or her own spirituality by promoting meaning and purpose, love and relatedness, and forgiveness. To promote love and relatedness, encourage the client to talk about relationships with
others and to identify the origin of negative beliefs about people.
What statement or question is useful for a nurse if a client asks the nurse to pray with him or her?
A) “I’m sorry, I am just too busy.”
B) “How would you like us to pray?”
C) “You will have to talk to your minister.”
D) “Why would you want me to do that?”
B) “How would you like us to pray?”
Clients accustomed to regular periods of prayer but who feel too ill to pray may ask the nurse to pray with them.
Because there are many forms of prayer, the nurse can take the lead by asking “How would you like us to pray?”
A nurse is preparing a client’s room to accommodate a visit from a spiritual counselor. Which of the following is a recommended practice? A) Dim or turn off the lights. B) Place a candle on the bedside table. C) Remove any unnecessary equipment. D) Place a cross on the bedside table
C) Remove any unnecessary equipment.
Preparations of the client’s room for the visit may vary, but the following are generally recommended practices: the
room should be orderly and free of unnecessary equipment and items; there should be a seat for the religious counselor
at the bedside or near the client so that both can be comfortable; the bedside table should be free of items and covered
with a clean, white cover if a sacrament is to be administered; and the bed curtains should be drawn for privacy if the
client can’t be moved to a more private setting.
A client tells a nurse that he does not think he can have the recommended heart surgery because transfusions are against his religion. What is the best response of the nurse in this situation?
A) Tell the client that the surgery is necessary to keep him alive and is the only choice.
B) Obtain all the information needed for the client to make an informed decision.
C) Prepare the client for a visit from his spiritual advisor.
D) Have the client sign a form stating his refusal of the treatment
B) Obtain all the information needed for the client to make an informed decision
The nurse’s role is to assist the client in obtaining the information needed to make an informed decision and to support the client’s decision making. Because what the nurse says, and the way it is said, may powerfully influence the client’s decision, it is important to maintain objectivity. Conflicts that resist resolution may be referred to an ethics committee or
consult team
Which of the following religious groups believe in divine healing through the “laying on of hands?” A) Judaism B) Mormons C) Buddhism D) Christian Scientist
B) Mormons
Devout Mormon adherents believe in divine healing through the “laying on of hands,” though many do not prohibit medical therapy. The Church maintains an extensive and well-funded welfare system, including financial support for the
sick
