Question

A client with chronic renal failure stops responding to the treatment. On examination, the primary health care provider determines that the client is terminally ill. Which is the correct nursing intervention in this situation?

1 Suggest that the family members get a second opinion.
2 Suggest that the family members continue to try different treatments.
3 Encourage the family members to provide palliative care to the client.
4 Inform the family members that the disease is no longer curable and the client will die shortly.

Answer 1

The appropriate nursing intervention for a terminally ill client is to encourage the family to provide palliative care, aligning with hospice care principles that focus on comfort and dignity rather than curative treatments.

Step-by-step explanation:

When a client with chronic renal failure becomes terminally ill and no longer responds to treatment, the correct nursing intervention is to encourage the family members to provide palliative care to the client. This approach is in line with the concept of hospice care, which focuses on offering comfort and peace to individuals at the end of life, rather than pursuing curative treatments. Research has shown that hospice care not only benefits the patient by allowing them to remain in a familiar environment but also extends emotional support to the family and reduces their burden of care. The objective is to enable the patient to die with dignity and manage pain in a humane and comfortable setting, which can contribute positively to the overall experience for the patient and their loved ones.