PTSD nclex question

[FazzDazzle]

Question from our final that I don't agree with the answer. I won't post the answer yet to prevent bias. Please tell me what you believe the answer is and possibly a rationale.

Your patient is suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). You know his condition is improving when he states that he:

A.) Acknowledges his fault for the event that occurred.

B.) has been attending to work and spending time with coworkers.

Thank you so much!

[NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN]

Definitely B. Taking fault for the event does not in my opinion means the condition is improving, it just means he acknowledges.

Now whether he acknowledge or not he must be able to still continue on with life which includes work, school, and etc.

Option B shows that the condition is approving because he is able to go work.

That is a terrible test question btw. How do we know it was the patient fault or that the event occurred at work.

I'm dying to know what the answer is.

[snow_bear]

I have to go with (B).

There is not enough information in the question to determine if the patient was at fault for the incident that caused his PTSD. Bad things happen sometimes that are out of our control.

Spending time with co-workers isn't really indicative (to me) of a recovery unless the patient is on friendly terms with these people and reguarly socialized with them before the incident. But, attending to work is definitely a good sign that he is functioning again.

So, what was the answer?

[finalscore3b1g]

My first thought is B. Is PTSD the client's fault? I mainly think of the military (not in every case of course) with this disorder so why is it their 'fault?' I just finished 1st semester so I'm not 100% sure. Then again, just b/c the client is out does not mean they are healing/healed....gotta love critical thinking without reading into it, lol

[sommeil, ASN, RN]

i'd go with B too.. the word 'fault' really bothers me in answer A. Most people i've met with PTSD weren't at fault.

[NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN]

sooo what is the answer OP? (Drum roll please)

[FazzDazzle]

The answer is A. Although everyone I've asked has put B. Like I said, we are trying to argue the question.

[NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN]

The answer is A. Although everyone I've asked has put B. Like I said, we are trying to argue the question.

Wow. That is crazy. I don't like the word fault. It is so accusatory. Does any thing in the question indicate it was the patients' fault.

Good luck and let us know if they credited. What was there rationale ?

[sugarmagnoliaRN]

Agreed, the answer should be B! Maybe it was a typo?

[ashleyisawesome, BSN, RN]

wow, a lot of women who have been raped have PTSD... so according to your instructor, they will never improve unless they accept that the rape was there fault. i would argue this question, or at least demand the instructors rationale. thats ridiculous.

[justashooter]

psychologists have noted that persons who perceive that they have some responsibility for a traumatic event are statistically more likely to develop PTSD than those who have experienced a similar event without perception of responsibility.

some examples: a soldier watches his buddy get shot, and feels that his failure to keep his inexperienced friend behind cover caused the death of the man. thereafter a woman gets raped in a dark parking lot by a stranger and later feels that if she had chosen her parking spot more carefully she would not have been raped.

in both cases there is some small level of responsibility for poor performance or decision making, so the PTSD sufferer is within reason in their own cognitive schema for taking responsibility and having the resultant fear, aversion, guilt, uncertainty, and depression that PTSD brings.

in truth, the guy who shot the soldier that died was responsible for the death, and the rapist was responsible for the rape, regardless of the less than ideal actions/choices of the sufferer.

a psychologically healthy person will punish themselves for failure to achieve the ideals of their schema more than any system can ever punish an abberant person for violating cultural norms. it's a trap nature has left us with. learning how to adjust our schemas and rationalise our own plights is part of the cure. keeping people with bizarre schemas locked up until they can be retrained is a nice second step for the wishful thinkers. realising the difference between the two types allows us to choose who we expose ourselves to.

in the meantime, keep your buddy's head down, and don't park in dark parking garages. it can't hurt to be careful.

agreed it is a poorly worded question that is designed to deceive.

agreed that people who write these tests get off on that kind of thing.

[turnforthenurse, MSN, NP]

with PTSD, I know that they are coping/improving when they realize what their triggers are, but they should never realize they are at "fault" for it.

wow, a lot of women who have been raped have PTSD... so according to your instructor, they will never improve unless they accept that the rape was there fault. i would argue this question, or at least demand the instructors rationale. thats ridiculous.

MTE.