The nurse is caring for a terminally ill client who frequently engages

The nurse is caring for a terminally ill client who frequently engages in prayer with her family. The most therapeutic nursing intervention for this client regarding this practice would be to:

1. Move the family into the unit’s sunroom for the ritual
2. Ask the client and her family to be allowed to pray with the group
3. Offer to arrange for the facility’s chaplain to attend the prayer session
4. Schedule the client’s physical therapy treatments to avoid being an interruption

ANSWER

ANS: 4
Spiritual priorities do not need to be sacrificed for physical care priorities. For example, when a client is in acute distress, focus care to provide the client a sense of control, but when a client is terminally ill, spiritual care is possibly the most important nursing intervention. By arranging for the PT treatment at a time that will not interrupt the client’s prayers, the nurse is showing atten-tion to the client’s spiritual needs most therapeutically. While the other options may be appropri-ate, they do not address the facilitation of the client’s expressed need regarding prayer.