Answer Choices:
a. Factitious disorder
b. Malingering
c. Illness anxiety
d. Trait anxiety
Answer:
c. Illness anxiety
Question: A soldier who served in a combat zone returned to the United States. The soldier’s spouse complains to the nurse, “We had planned to start a family, but now he won’t talk about it. He won’t even look at children.” The spouse is describing which symptom associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)?
Answer Choices:
a. Re-experiencing
b. Hyperarousal
c. Avoidance
d. Psychosis
Answer:
c. Avoidance
Question: A patient reports fears of having cervical cancer and says to the nurse, “I’ve had Pap smears by six different doctors. The results are normal, but I’m sure that’s because of errors in the laboratory.” Which disorder would the nurse suspect?
Answer Choices:
a. Functional neurological (conversion) disorder
b. Illness anxiety disorder (hypochondriasis)
c. Derealization disorder
d. Dissociative amnesia with fugue
Answer:
b. Illness anxiety disorder (hypochondriasis)
Question: A patient tells the nurse, “I don’t go to restaurants because people might laugh at the way I eat, or I could spill food and be laughed at.” The nurse assesses this behavior as consistent with which mental health diagnosis?
Answer Choices:
a. Acrophobia
b. Agoraphobia
c. Social anxiety disorder
d. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Answer:
c. Social anxiety disorder
Question: Which medication would the nurse expect to be prescribed for a patient diagnosed with a somatic symptom disorder?
Answer Choices:
a. Narcotic analgesics for use as needed for acute pain
b. Antidepressant medications to treat underlying depression
c. Long-term use of benzodiazepines to support coping with anxiety
d. Conventional antipsychotic medications to correct cognitive distortions
Answer:
b. Antidepressant medications to treat underlying depression
Question: Which treatment modality should a nurse recommend to help a patient diagnosed with somatic symptom disorder cope more effectively?
Answer Choices:
a. Flooding
b. Relaxation
c. Response prevention
d. Systematic desensitization
Answer:
b. Relaxation
Question: Which experiences are most likely to precipitate posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)? (Select all that apply.)
Answer Choices:
a. An 8-year-old child watches an R-rated movie with both parents.
b. A young adult jumps from a bridge with a bungee cord with a best friend.
c. An adolescent is kidnapped and held for 2 years in the home of a sexual predator.
d. A passenger is in a bus that overturns on a sharp curve in the road, tumbling down an embankment.
e. An adult is trapped for 3 hours at an angle in an elevator after a portion of the supporting cable breaks.
Answer:
C, D, E
Question: A patient diagnosed with somatic symptom disorder tells the nurse, “It’s starting again. I feel as though my heart is beating out of my chest and I can’t breathe.” The nurse should provide what response to best address the patient’s symptoms?
Answer Choices:
a. “I’ll call your health care provider and see if I can give you a sedative.”
b. “Do you think you will feel better with some oxygen?”
c. “We’ve talked about how being dramatic is helpful.”
d. “Has something happened to make you anxious?”
Answer:
d. “Has something happened to make you anxious?”
Question: A veteran of military combat tells the nurse, “I saw a child get blown up over a year ago, and now I keep seeing bits of flesh everywhere. I see something red and the visions race back to my mind.” Which phenomenon associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is this veteran describing?
Answer Choices:
a. Re-experiencing
b. Hyperarousal
c. Avoidance
d. Psychosis
Answer:
a. Re-experiencing
Question: A nurse interacts with a newly hospitalized patient. Which nursing statement reflects the communication technique of ‘offering self’? a. “I’ve also had traumatic life experiences. Maybe it would help if I told you about them.” b. “Why do you think you had so much difficulty adjusting to this change in your life?” c. “I hope you will feel better after getting accustomed to how this unit operates.” d. “I’d like to sit with you for a while to help you get comfortable talking to me.”
Answer Choices:
a. “I’ve also had traumatic life experiences. Maybe it would help if I told you about them.”
b. “Why do you think you had so much difficulty adjusting to this change in your life?”
c. “I hope you will feel better after getting accustomed to how this unit operates.”
d. “I’d like to sit with you for a while to help you get comfortable talking to me.”
Answer:
D
Question: A patient has been diagnosed with a somatic symptoms disorder after various testing has failed to confirm a physiological cause for the patient’s reports of back pain. What intervention by the nurse demonstrates the appropriate response when the patient continues to monopolize the group discussion with about back pain?
Answer Choices:
a. Acknowledge the presence of pain but then redirect to another topic.
b. Offer to discuss the back pain with the patient after the group session is over.
c. In a matter-of-fact manner tell the patient that their pain is somatic in nature.
d. Offer to discuss additional pain medication with the patient’s health care provider.
Answer:
a. Acknowledge the presence of pain but then redirect to another topic.
Question: What are the causes of somatic system disorders generally related to?
Answer Choices:
a. Faulty perceptions of body sensations
b. Traumatic childhood events
c. Culture-bound phenomena
d. Mood instability
Answer:
a. Faulty perceptions of body sensations