Exam 8 Love and Belonging and Spirituality Flashcards
A nurse who was raised a strict Roman Catholic stated she couldn’t assist patients with their spiritual distress because she recognizes only a “field power” in each individual. She said, “My parents and I hardly talk because I’ve deserted my faith. Sometimes I feel real isolated from them and also God—if there is a God.” Analysis of these data reveals which unmet spiritual need?
a. Need for meaning and purpose
b. Need for forgiveness
c. Need for love and relatedness
d. Need for strength for everyday living
c. The data point to an unmet spiritual need to experience love and belonging given her estrangement from her family and God after leaving the church. The other options may represent other needs this nurse has, but the data provided do not support them.
Which of the following statements most correctly differentiates between an agnostic and an atheist?
a. The terms are used interchangeably, both believing
there is no God.
b. An agnostic denies that humans can know anything
about God’s existence, whereas an atheist denies
God’s existence.
c. They both deny the need for a philosophy of living
to guide their life.
d. No aspect of an atheist’s life is influenced by spiritu-
ality, whereas an agnostic has spiritual value
b. An agnostic denies that humans can know anything about God’s existence, whereas an atheist denies God’s existence. The other options are incorrect.
Which statement is true concerning the influence of spirituality and religion on the various aspects of a person’s life?
a. All aspects of life may be influenced by spirituality.
b. Activities of daily living (eating, bathing, sleeping,dressing) are rarely influenced by religion.
c. Work and recreation are not influenced by religion.
d. Whereas physical illness is seldom influenced by religion, mental illness frequently is.
a. Spirituality can influence all aspects of a person’s life, including activities of daily living, work and recreation, and all types of illnesses. The other options are incomplete or false.
A patient whose last name is Goldstein was served on a paper plate a kosher meal ordered from a restaurant because the hospital made no provision for kosher food or dishes. Mr. Goldstein became angry and accused the nurse of insulting him: “I want to eat what everyone else does—and give me decent dishes.” Analysis of these data reveals what finding?
a. The nurse should have ordered kosher dishes also.
b. The staff must have behaved condescendingly or critically.
c. Mr. Goldstein is a problem patient and difficult to satisfy.
d. Mr. Goldstein was stereotyped and not consulted about his dietary preferences.
d. On the basis of his name alone, the nurse jumped to the premature and false conclusion that this patient would want a kosher diet.
- You are least likely to encounter resistance to emergency life-saving surgery for a patient from which of the following families?
a. Christian Scientist family
b. Faith Assembly Healer family
c. Jehovah’s Witness family
d. Orthodox Jewish family
- d. There is no teaching in the Hebrew scriptures that prohibits emergency life-saving surgery; in fact, most Orthodox Jews would be highly motivated to have the surgery because of the high value attached to preserving life. All of the other groups mentioned might have religious grounds for refusing surgery.
- When the family desires baptism for an infant, why is it imperative that the nurse provide for baptism to be done?
a. Baptism frequently postpones or prevents death or suffering.
b. It is legally required that nurses provide for this care when the family makes this request.
c. It is a nursing function to assure the salvation of the baby.
d. Lack of baptism when desired may increase the family’s sorrow and suffering.
- d. Failure to ensure that an infant baptism is performed when parents desire it may greatly increase the family’s sorrow and suffering, and this is an appropriate nursing concern. Whether baptism postpones or prevents death and suffering (answer a) is a religious belief that is insufficient to bind all nurses. There is no legal requirement regarding baptism, so answer b is false. Although some nurses may believe part of their role is to ensure the salvation of the baby (answer c), this function would understandably be rejected by many.
- Because the capacity for abstract thought develops as a child grows older, spirituality is understood differently by children of different ages. Which of the following statements is false?
a. Spirituality and perception of God/higher being is meaningless for the 4- to 5-year-old.
b. Even young children, 4 to 5 years of age, have definite perceptions of God/higher being and forms of worship.
c. Children’s perceptions of their “spiritual self ” mature as they mature.
d. Children 5 to 11 years of age may show anxiety concerning the power they believe God has.
- a. It is false that spirituality and perception of God is meaningless for the 4- to 5-year-old. All the other options are correct.
What is the most important source of learning about his or her own spirituality for a child?
a. His or her church or religious organization
b. What parents say about God and religion
c. How parents behave in relationship to one another and their children, to others, and to God
d. The spiritual adviser for the family.
c. Children learn most about their own spirituality from how their parents behave in relationship to one another, their children, others, and God/higher being. Less important sources of learning are each of the other options.
Even though a detailed nursing history in which spirituality is assessed is taken on admission, problems with spiritual distress may not surface until days after admission. What is the probable explanation?
a. Patients usually want to conceal information about spiritual needs
b. Patients are not concerned about spiritual needs until after their spiritual adviser visits
c. Family members and close friends often initiate spiritual concerns
d. Illness increases spiritual concerns, which may be difficult for patients to express in words
d. Illness may increase spiritual concerns, which many patients find difficult to express. The other options do not correspond to actual experience.
- When a patient needs spiritual counseling, the nurse who is comfortable with his or her own spirituality should do which of the following?
a. Always call the patient’s own spiritual adviser
b. Consult with the patient about the spiritual adviser with whom he or she wishes to talk
c. Attempt to counsel the patient and, if unsuccessful, make a referral
d. Advise the patient and spiritual adviser concerning health options and the correct decision
b. Even when a nurse feels comfortable discussing spiritual concerns, he or she should always check first with patients to determine the spiritual adviser with whom they wish to talk. Calling the patient’s own spiritual adviser (answer a) may be premature if it is a matter the nurse can handle. Answers c and d deny patients the right to speak privately with their spiritual adviser from the outset, if this is what they prefer.
When assessment data point to a spiritual problem that can be treated by independent nursing intervention, it receives which NANDA-approved diagnostic label?
a. Spiritual Alienation
b. Spiritual Despair
c. Spiritual Distress
d. Spiritual Pain
c. The only NANDA-approved nursing diagnosis among the options is Spiritual Distress. The other options may be further specifications of the broader diagnosis Spiritual Distress.
- A patient states she feels so isolated from her family and church and even God “in this huge medical center so far from home.” An appropriate goal for the patient to relieve her spiritual distress is as follows. The patient will:
a. Express satisfaction with the compatibility of her spiritual beliefs and everyday living
b. Identify spiritual beliefs that meet her need for meaning and purpose
c. Express peaceful acceptance of limitations and failings
d. Identify spiritual supports available to her in this medical center
d. Each of the four options represents appropriate spiritual goals, but identifying spiritual supports available to her in the medical center demonstrates a decreased sense of isolation.
- A man who is a declared agnostic is extremely depressed after losing his home, his wife, and his children in a fire. His nursing diagnosis is Spiritual Distress: Spiritual Pain related to inability to find meaning and purpose in his current condition. Which of the following is the most important nursing intervention to plan?
a. Ask the patient which spiritual adviser he would like you to call
b. Recommend that the patient read spiritual biographies or religious books
c. Explore with the patient what, in addition to his family, has given his life meaning and purpose in the past
d. Introduce the belief that God is a loving and personal God.
- c. The nursing intervention of exploring with the patient what, in addition to his family, has given his life meaning and purpose in the past is more likely to correct the etiology of his problem, Spiritual Pain, than any of the other nursing interventions listed.
After having an abortion, the patient told the visiting nurse, “I shouldn’t have had that abortion because I’m Catholic, but what else could I do? I’m afraid I’ll never get close to my mother or back in the Church again.” She then talked with her priest about this feeling of guilt. Which evaluation statement shows a solution to the problem?
a. Patient states, “I wish I had talked with the priest sooner. I now know God has forgiven me, and even my mother understands.”
b. Patient has slept from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. for three consecutive nights without medication.
c. Patient has developed mutually caring relationships with two women and one man.
d. Patient has identified several spiritual beliefs that give purpose to her life.
a. Because this patient’s nursing diagnosis is Spiritual Distress: Guilt, an evaluative statement that demonstrates diminished guilt is necessary. Only answer a directly deals with guilt.
Mr. Brown’s teenage daughter had been involved in shoplifting. He expressed much anger toward her and stated he could not face her, let alone discuss this with her: “I just will not tolerate a thief.” Which of the following nursing interventions would you take to assist Mr. Brown with his deficit in forgiveness?
a. Assure him that many parents feel the same way.
b. Reassure him that many teenagers go through this kind of rebellion and that it will pass.
c. Assist the patient to identify how unforgiving feelings toward others only hurt the one who cannot forgive.
d. Ask him if he is sure he has spent sufficient time with his daughter.
c. Because this is the only nursing intervention that directly addresses the patient’s unmet spiritual need concerning forgiveness. Answers a and b may make him feel better initially, but neither addresses his need to forgive. Answer d is likely to make him feel guilty.
