A Patient Asks the Nurse Why the Prescriber Is Changing

question 33

Multiple Choice

A patient asks the nurse why the prescriber is changing his anxiety medication from lorazepam (Ativan) to sertaline (Zoloft) .What is the nurse's best response?

• A) "Sertraline is a stronger drug and will do a better job of controlling your anxiety."
• B) "Sertraline has milder side effects and a decreased risk for drug dependence."
• C) "Sertraline acts much faster to get the symptoms of your anxiety under control."
• D) "Sertraline can be taken only when needed to control symptoms of anxiety."

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Definitions:

External Attributions

The process of assigning the cause of behavior to situational factors outside the individual, rather than internal characteristics.

Knowledge Structures

The mental frameworks and organizational systems individuals use to process, store, and retrieve information based on their experiences and learning.

Mental Shortcuts

Cognitive strategies or heuristics that simplify decision making by using limited information, allowing for faster judgements but sometimes at the cost of accuracy.

Self-Serving Bias

A cognitive bias that involves individuals attributing their successes to internal factors while attributing failures to external factors.