Psychosocial and Behavioral Health Flashcards
7 cards from real PCCN practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Psychosocial and Behavioral Health flashcards as text
A progressive care patient who has been hospitalized for 5 days becomes confused at night, attempts to pull out his IV, and reports seeing insects on the ceiling. Which condition does this presentation most likely indicate?
Answer: ICU/hospital-acquired delirium
Hospital-acquired delirium is characterized by acute onset of fluctuating confusion, disorientation, and perceptual disturbances, and is extremely common in progressive care patients.
The nurse is assessing a patient for alcohol withdrawal using the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol (CIWA-Ar) scale. Which finding would indicate the most severe level of withdrawal?
Answer: Severe agitation, hallucinations, and seizures with a score of 22
A CIWA-Ar score ≥20 indicates severe withdrawal requiring aggressive pharmacologic intervention; scores with seizures and hallucinations represent the highest risk category.
A patient admitted for cardiac monitoring discloses feelings of hopelessness and that life is not worth living. What is the nurse's priority action?
Answer: Perform a structured suicidal ideation assessment and notify the care team immediately
Statements indicating hopelessness and passive suicidal ideation require immediate structured risk assessment and prompt notification of the multidisciplinary team to ensure patient safety.
Which intervention is MOST effective in preventing delirium in a progressive care patient?
Answer: Promoting sleep hygiene, early mobility, and reorientation strategies
Non-pharmacologic bundles including sleep promotion, early mobilization, cognitive stimulation, and reorientation (e.g., ABCDEF bundle) are the most evidence-based approach to delirium prevention.
A nurse is caring for a patient experiencing opioid withdrawal. Which cluster of symptoms should the nurse expect?
Answer: Tachycardia, diaphoresis, piloerection, and yawning
Opioid withdrawal produces a hyperadrenergic state characterized by tachycardia, diaphoresis, piloerection (goosebumps), yawning, lacrimation, and muscle aches.
When using therapeutic communication with a patient who is anxious about an upcoming procedure, which nurse response is MOST appropriate?
Answer: "I understand you're concerned. Can you tell me more about what's worrying you?"
Open-ended questions that acknowledge the patient's feelings and invite elaboration are the hallmark of therapeutic communication and help identify specific concerns.
A family member of a dying patient asks the nurse, 'Is my mother suffering?' The patient is unconscious and receiving palliative sedation. Which response best reflects palliative care principles?
Answer: "She is not suffering; the medications are keeping her comfortable and peaceful."
Palliative sedation is titrated to ensure comfort; reassuring the family that the patient is comfortable is accurate, compassionate, and consistent with palliative care goals.