Question

A primary healthcare provider tells a client about the diagnosis of inoperable cancer and that the client does not have long to live. after the primary healthcare provider leaves, the client says to the nurse, "i feel fine. i probably only have the flu." the nurse determines that the client is in the denial stage of grief. what should the nurse do to help meet the client's emotional needs?

Answer 1

Reassuring the client that everything will be all right is false reassurance. The client must not be abandoned; the nurse's presence is a form of emotional support. Allowing the denial and being available to discuss the situation with the client does not remove the client's only way of coping and it permits future movement through the grieving process when the client is ready The client's denial should be neither encouraged nor removed; encouraging denial is a form of false reassurance