A Nurse Documents: "Patient Is Mute Despite Repeated Efforts to Elicit

question 30

Multiple Choice

A nurse documents: "Patient is mute despite repeated efforts to elicit speech. Makes no eye contact. Inattentive to staff. Gazes off to the side or looks upward rather than at speaker." Which nursing diagnosis should be considered?

• A) Defensive coping
• B) Decisional conflict
• C) Risk for other-directed violence
• D) Impaired verbal communication

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Definitions:

Conscious Experience

The range of experiences that one is aware of, including thoughts, feelings, perceptions, sensations, and the surrounding environment at any given moment.

Physiological Arousal

Physiological arousal involves the activation of the body's autonomic nervous system, leading to physical changes such as increased heart rate, blood pressure, or adrenaline in response to stimuli.

Stanley Schachter

An American psychologist best known for his development of the two-factor theory of emotion, which considers both physiological arousal and cognitive interpretation.

General Bodily Arousal

A state of physiological alertness and readiness in the body, often in response to stimuli or stressors, involving various physiological systems.