Ideal response in certain situations?

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Hello everyone! I've been considering a few different scenarios that I was presented with, and I was wondering what most of you believe would be an ideal response in a similar situation.

1) "A 16-yr old boy was declared brain dead by the doctor. His mother and step-father are in the waiting room. What kind of decision would you make based on this information?"

2) "A 23 year old has AIDS and his mother has concerns that he may have leukemia because she noticed bruises on his legs and arms. The mother asked the nurse if her son is going to die. What might the nurse do in this situation?"

3) "You are the nursing student on a clinical unit and the patient (on the 4th floor of the hospital) asks you "Would I die if I jump from this window?" What would you do?"

4) "You are the nurse and you are reporting an important change in patient condition to a doctor and the doctor yells at you and calls you stupid, what would you do?"

Any thoughts and opinions are very appreciated.

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Specializes in student; help!.

The quotes make me think this is a homework assignment. Perhaps you would like to tell us what YOU think the ideal response is, and we could help steer you from there.

I've gotten great homework help here, but I demonstrated that I was actually trying to do the work before I came asking for answers.

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These are not at all homework questions, but rather I'm trying to help my mother prepare for a nursing school interview. Here is what I think, but I may be wrong:

1) I'm really not sure about how I should handle this situation. Should I try to tell the step father first, and try to tell the mother that her son will need more attention for some time, and slowly beat around the bush?

2) I would tell the mother not to worry about her son having leukemia, and that rather, it appears that his immune system has weakened. She shouldn't be worried about him dying, but rather he needs to be very careful about getting sick since his body will have a much harder time fighting it. Would this be a reasonable response?

3) I would respond by saying that I wouldn't want to find out, and ask him as to why he's curious. I would then walk the patient back to their bed, and then review the patient's history of any psychological issue or traumatic incidents. I would also notify other nurses on the same floor about the patient's query and tell them to keep an eye on him.

4) I would apologize to the doctor and tell him that I felt it was important that he know this. If the doctor repeatedly does this, then I would confront the doctor and ask him what he would want me to do in a critical situation like this. If the doctor is continually demeaning, then I would report him to my supervisor.

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1. It's hard to say what I would do, but I think that the best option would be to just be as honest as possible while still showing support for the parents.

2. I would tell the mother that it is too soon to tell what the prognosis is for her son, and that she needs to have a long conversation with him. I would also encourage him to be honest with his mother.

3. I would try to redirect the patient by asking why that he is thinking about this, etc. then I would speak to my instructor and the nurse so that appropriate action may be taken depending on the facility's procedural codes.

4. Take a deep breath and restate the changes. If it is truley an important change, then it is the nurse's responsiblity to inform the physician as to what the change is, regardless of whether or not she hs gotten her feelings hurt.

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I understand that there isn't exactly a right or wrong answer, but I suppose that as a nurse, this would be what you should do. I'm still a bit confused as to how I would respond in situation 1 & 4. Situation 3, is there any specific protocol that you would typically go through when you encounter such a patient?

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Some of my ideas... There isnt really any right or wrong answer, but in discipline/communication courses you're taught how to act or communicate in various situations. You *really* will not know what to say or do until the situation happens to you... and the more often the situation occurs, the better you will be at handling that situation.

1. if there are nurses on the floor that have previous experience with this family, or have developed a repor, I would ask them to let the family know. The family is going to want someone who knows their son to address this information to them, you don't want to "beat around the bush," but at the same time you do not want to say "Ok, your son is brain dead." You want to comfort them, let them know the diagnosis, allow them time to settle, and tell them you will be around if they would like to talk to someone or have any questions.

2. Part of nursing teaches us never to give the pt or their family false hope or reassurance. If the mother has concerns about the leukemia, I would address her concerns and look into whether or not it is leukemia.

3. I would ask the pt why they are thinking about this. This could be enough to warrant the pt to be put on a suicide watch. I would check in with this pt every so often, asking how they are feeling.

4. I wouldn't take it personally, as i'm only communicating a pt report with a doctor. Maybe he had a bad sleep, who knows, who cares, but it does not warrant being talked down to. I would repeat the change of the pt to the doctor, and tell him that I feel it is important he is aware of the change. If it was on more than one occasion I would tell someone higher up about his behavior and attitude towards others.

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Specializes in Neuro, Neuro ICU.

1. I'm not sure, but should the doctor be the one who breaks the news beings that this is a medial diagnosis, and although nurses have some knowledge of the subject the doctor is the one who made that call?

2. I guess you could check for leukemia, or if bruises are something that happens with aids patients, then describe how/why its happening. I dont really know much about this yet b/c i'm only in my fundamentals class. but the main thing would be to be honest, but not give false reassurance.

3. I would tell them that its hard to say if he'd die or not because it depends on the fall, but most likely it would just hurt really bad and that i dont recommend giving it a try

4. Tell him you dont appreciate being talked to that way, and continue to explain the situation, because the patient is the most important thing at the moment, you can always deal with the other issue later after the patient is stable.

I know these arent perfect answers, but they are something to think about

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Hello everyone! I've been considering a few different scenarios that I was presented with, and I was wondering what most of you believe would be an ideal response in a similar situation.

1) "A 16-yr old boy was declared brain dead by the doctor. His mother and step-father are in the waiting room. What kind of decision would you make based on this information?"

2) "A 23 year old has AIDS and his mother has concerns that he may have leukemia because she noticed bruises on his legs and arms. The mother asked the nurse if her son is going to die. What might the nurse do in this situation?"

3) "You are the nursing student on a clinical unit and the patient (on the 4th floor of the hospital) asks you "Would I die if I jump from this window?" What would you do?"

4) "You are the nurse and you are reporting an important change in patient condition to a doctor and the doctor yells at you and calls you stupid, what would you do?"

Any thoughts and opinions are very appreciated.

1. I wouldn't say anything to the parents regarding the diagnosis. I would believe the boy's physician(s) would present this information to them.

2. Would the bruises have already been noted? I'd speak to the physician or nurse manager (I'm sorry, but I'm familiar with the hierarchy in the healthcare system) about the mother's concerns. But I wouldn't be able to give her the answer she is looking for.

3. Follow hospital protocol. Is the patient suicidal?

4. Smile and just go about doing my job. Add a mental eye roll:rolleyes: with some choice words (in my head, of course). You're going to encounter people like that wherever you go.

I'm not in nursing school, so perhaps my answers are totally off the mark. :clown:

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Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
Hello everyone! I've been considering a few different scenarios that I was presented with, and I was wondering what most of you believe would be an ideal response in a similar situation.

1) "A 16-yr old boy was declared brain dead by the doctor. His mother and step-father are in the waiting room. What kind of decision would you make based on this information?"

With the use of was, I am unsure if the parents know or not yet, like they know but are processing in the waiting room. Regardless, I would go and offer my condolences and see if there is anything I can do for them. (if they have been told, if not maybe go with the dr. to tell them and stay when he leaves to do this.) but see if there was anything in my power that I could do to help them.

2) "A 23 year old has AIDS and his mother has concerns that he may have leukemia because she noticed bruises on his legs and arms. The mother asked the nurse if her son is going to die. What might the nurse do in this situation?"

You wouldn't tell the mom not to worry about her son dying, or not to worry about him having leukemia. It invalidates her feelings and she has every right to worry about her son. It doesn't say if she knows if he has AIDS already. Anyway, I would tell her that I can understand why she would be concerned and that I will talk to the Dr. and have him come in and answer any questions she has about her sons illness.

3) "You are the nursing student on a clinical unit and the patient (on the 4th floor of the hospital) asks you "Would I die if I jump from this window?" What would you do?"

I would say something like, "That is an unusual question Bob, what brings that up" and try to get more information. I would also report it so protocol can be followed.

4) "You are the nurse and you are reporting an important change in patient condition to a doctor and the doctor yells at you and calls you stupid, what would you do?"

If the DR is yelling at me I would wait until he stopped and calmly asked "Are you done now" or I would probably have some other smart aleck reply like "Do you feel better now" "Do you need to take a time out" Probably not the best idea but I wouldn't take well to someone yelling at me and calling me names. I wouldn't apologize to him for him yelling at me and belittling me. I wouldn't yell back though either. I would also find out if I needed to fill out something or document something in case he decided to file a complaint on me, that way my butt is covered.

Any thoughts and opinions are very appreciated.

Answers are in bold.

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Specializes in ED.
Hello everyone! I've been considering a few different scenarios that I was presented with, and I was wondering what most of you believe would be an ideal response in a similar situation.

2) "A 23 year old has AIDS and his mother has concerns that he may have leukemia because she noticed bruises on his legs and arms. The mother asked the nurse if her son is going to die. What might the nurse do in this situation?"

Have y'all forgotten your therapeutic communication skills? tsk, tsk!! You know I ::Heart:: y'all and that's my weak attempt at sarcasm.

what you are *supposed* to say is, "I can tell you are concerned about your son's health. Let's talk about those concerns."

I think every single one of those questions you have posted REQUIRE a therapeutic response.

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