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End of Life Questions and Answers | Latest Version | 2025/2026 | Correct & Verified
What is the nurse’s priority action when a dying client becomes increasingly confused and agitated?
- Place the client in a room alone to rest
- Restrain the client to prevent injury
- Administer a sedative without a provider order
✔✔ B. Assess for pain, hypoxia, or urinary retention
A terminally ill client tells the nurse, “I feel scared when I think about dying.” What is the most therapeutic response?
- “Everyone dies eventually. It’s normal.”
- “Try not to think about it too much.”
- “Just focus on happy memories instead.”
✔✔ B. “Would you like to talk more about what scares you?”
What physical sign most often indicates a client is nearing death? 1 / 3
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✔✔ A. Cool, mottled extremities
- Increased appetite
- Elevated blood pressure
- Hyperactive bowel sounds
Which intervention best supports a dying client's spiritual needs?
- Encouraging the client to remain hopeful about a cure
- Recommending the client read a religious text
- Explaining your own beliefs about the afterlife
✔✔ B. Offering to contact a spiritual leader per the client's wishes
A client receiving palliative care complains of increasing shortness of breath. What is the nurse's first action?
- Call a rapid response team
- Prepare for emergency intubation
- Limit fluid intake to reduce congestion
- / 3
✔✔ B. Elevate the head of the bed and administer oxygen
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Which of the following is a sign of psychological acceptance of approaching death?
- Anger at caregivers
- Refusal to discuss death
- Requests for experimental treatment
✔✔ B. Saying goodbye to loved ones
What is the primary difference between hospice and palliative care?
- Hospice allows curative treatments
- Palliative care is only for the elderly
- Hospice care is only for hospital settings
✔✔ B. Palliative care can begin at any stage of a serious illness
When a client's family is unable to accept the impending death, what is the best nursing intervention?
- Avoid talking about the client's prognosis
- Focus only on the client’s needs
- Redirect the family’s questions to the physician only
- / 3
✔✔ B. Offer emotional support and encourage family presence