In orienting new staff nurses to a pediatric intensive care unit, the

QUESTION

In orienting new staff nurses to a pediatric intensive care unit, the nurse manager asks the staff nurses to answer the following question: “What is an important consideration in providing information to parents of a critically ill child?”

a. Making sure that they receive complete information during each encounter with a member of the nursing staff
b. Assessing parents’ preferences for the amount of information desired
c. Allowing parents to observe key aspects of their child’s nursing care
d. Making sure that patient education brochures explaining ICU protocols are readily available

ANSWER:

ANS: B
Consultation with the parents regarding the amount of information that they desire reflects a service orientation, in which preferences and needs of the consumer are placed first. The other answers reflect nurse-directed decisions in which the nurse decides what information and how much information is needed and how it is to be delivered.