Acceptable questions for nursing students to ask?

dbluebird4 · Feb 15, 2012

I'm a 4th semester nursing student getting ready to prepare for boards. I was wondering which would help me more in preparing for boards Hurst Review or ATI review? I would appreciate any input.

dbluebird4 · Feb 15, 2012

I will be graduating in May 2012 and want to work as a hospice nurse. In order to apply do they require you to have med surg experience?

psu_213, BSN, RN · Feb 15, 2012

I am asking here because I am not sure where to post it. I am a med/surg nurse. Students from a local university are being asked to fill out a 13 page nursing assessment. Some of the questions on this form seem in appropriate.
This assessment is for a med/surg 2/3 class.
Students are doing clinical on a MACU unit, skilled nursing unit, etc.
Examples:
What is your sexual orientation?
Do you have sex?
If so, how is it?
How was your infancy, childhood, adulthood?
How many people live in your home?
What is the cost of your home?
The school is also asking students to palpate the liver. This brings up an entirely different issue related to patient safety. I am afraid that a student could cause a rupture in an alcoholic patient or worse. I am not even sure if a student is allowed to perform such a procedure. I have never done that and would assume I would need a doctor's order if I did.
I am getting a copy of the assessment tomorrow from a student and taking it to my unit manager. But I wondered if these questions were now considered the norm for nursing school now? Or do others feel the students are crossing an ethical or moral threshold asking these sorts of things?
Thanks,
Linny

From the standpoint of pshychological well being, the impact of an illness on a pt's sex life is important. However, there are much more graceful ways to ask it that just 'do you have sex?' and 'how is it?' If you thought it was an issue you can ask something to the effect of "How has XXX (condition/illness) affected you sex life? Do you feel as intimate with you partner as you did before this illness?" I know that I would not feel comfortable as a pt talking with a total stranger about this, and would be offended if they say "well, this is a standard assessment question." As for sexual orientation, in certain circumstances it could be important, but I really don't think it should be a part of a 'standard' interview--ask about it only if it is pertinant to the condition of the pt...and be very careful about when you ask it and never (!) be judgemental.

The question about 'how many people in your house' can be a valid one in certain circustances (think role strain), and their socioecomonic standing can be important. I can think of absolutely no reason why it would be valid to ask someone how much their house is worth. I can't imagine a situation where this would have any bearing on the care you are giving some one...totally inappropriate.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Feb 15, 2012

Great points psu......even though this post is from 2008 it remains a VALID topic to discuss.

whichone'spink, BSN, RN · Mar 4, 2012

Whenever I had to fill out these stupid forms for care plans, I would right patient refused to answer for the awkward questions; I never asked them though. It's not any of my business to ask about sexuality and religious preferences. I personally don't like to be asked what religion I am.

Mandychelle79, ASN, RN · Mar 5, 2012

I have to ask awkward questions everyday. During our admission paperwork we ask

In the past or are you now sexually active

Date of LMP

Do you use birth control

Do you practice safe sex

I just warn the patient before I start the assessment that I will be asking some personal questions but their answers will help with their treatment. Some medications have a negative affect on a pregnancy. And if a person is Manic ( work psych) they are more likely to take risks with sex.

Our social worker gets to ask the sexual orientation questions

dkthurlow · Apr 15, 2012

I'm doing a presentation on patient sexuality and nursing right now and all evidence points to the fact that offering a patient an opportunity to discuss their sexual orientation is very important. Also addressing sexuality as part of holistic nursing care is just as important as addressing any other aspect of a patient's health.

If they don't address these things with you who exactly will they address them with? The nurse is supposed to be the patient's advocate and the only way to do that effectively is by being thoroughly informed.

Anne36, LPN · Apr 16, 2012

Ive been in LPN school the last year and I agree those questions are too invasive. I was suprised when we first started the nosy quesitons they wanted us to ask. I understand it is coming from the Gordons to gather data and form a Nursing Diagnoses for the patient, but still I dont think if it is relevant to their current DX in the hospital people would feel comfortable with such questions. That Gordons is like giving the patient the 3rd degree and anyone would be bound to get aggravated after a while.

Show the unit manager and tell us what she thinks.

Rob72, ASN, RN · Apr 25, 2012

all evidence points to the fact that offering a patient an opportunity to discuss their sexual orientation is very important. Also addressing sexuality as part of holistic nursing care is just as important as addressing any other aspect of a patient's health.

Some evidence, in not overly broad studies. Sorry, this is another political hobby-horse, of limited practical value. The social engineering in this new trend is equally informative- patients that refuse to answer may be seen as "unenlightened", "phobic", "sexually retarded". Once information is in the chart, it is property of the insurance company, the NIH and any QA/QI committee at the facility. No, HIPAA has no boundary on this one- I deal with this for a living.

It is equally interesting that no one promotes investigating abuse histories in persons involved in alternative lifestyles.

But, in any case, care should be individualized. Investigate the issue? Sure. Run down a checklist? Bad idea. Doing so is dehumanizing and invasive. ISO certification and AIDET/Six Sigma/etc., are all grossly dysfunctional models in care delivery.

canned_bread · May 13, 2012

i do not see the point of those questions. what a persons house value is does not have affect on their medical treatment/assessment! if someone is homeless and needs assistance upon discharge, that is a different kettle of fish. furthermore, sexual orientation and if they enjoy sex? what does it matter?! it, once again, has no baring on treatment. if the patient wants help on that, then they can ask and it be dealt with then! i think it is a complete invasion on privacy, and i would not ask those questions.

now, palpation of the liver. part of their knowledge, prior to doing that, should be to know why are they palpating the liver, and to ask questions prior like "how much alcohol do you drink" etc to ascertain if there is risk. like, prior to inserting a foley on a male you should find out if there is a chance of an enlarged prostate. they need all the information prior to doing these tasks, and if they don't know what questions to ask, they shouldn't ask. that being said, we learnt patient assessment (including palpation of the abdomen) prior to how the liver works and risks, and as a result in clinicals we were expected to do abdominal palpation!