End-of-Life & Palliative Care (NCLEX) Quiz

1. Which intervention is contraindicated for a patient with terminal agitation?

Providing a calm environment

Administering sedatives as ordered

Restraining the patient

Offering reassurance and presence

2. True or False: Bereavement support should end immediately after the patient's death.

True

False

3. Which sign suggests a patient has accepted their impending death?

Anger and denial

Bargaining and negotiation

Peace, acceptance, and focus on relationships

Increased demand for curative treatment

4. A dying patient's family requests aggressive resuscitation despite a DNR order. What is the appropriate nursing action?

Perform CPR to honor the family's wishes

Respect the DNR order; involve the team to address family concerns

Ignore the family and follow the physician's preference

Delay the conversation until after death

Submit

6. Which nursing action best prevents aspiration in a dying patient?

Forcing oral intake

Positioning upright and providing oral care

Inserting a nasogastric tube

Restricting all fluids

7. A patient with advanced dementia cannot communicate wishes. Who should guide end-of-life decisions?

The physician alone

The designated surrogate or healthcare proxy

The hospital ethics committee

The nursing staff

8. True or False: Patients in a coma cannot hear conversations around them.

True

False

9. Which cultural consideration is most important when providing end-of-life care?

Impose standard care practices on all patients

Ask about beliefs, rituals, and preferences regarding death

Assume the family wants aggressive treatment

Prioritize hospital policies over patient values

10. A family member asks if morphine will hasten death. How should the nurse respond?

Admit it might speed up death

Deny any connection between morphine and death

Explain morphine relieves suffering; hastening death is not the intent

Avoid the question

Submit

12. Which medication is most appropriate for managing severe pain in a dying patient?

Acetaminophen

Morphine

Ibuprofen

Aspirin

13. A patient expresses fear about dying alone. What is the most therapeutic nursing response?

Assure the patient they won't die alone; stay present

Explain that death is a natural process

Change the subject to distract the patient

Call family members immediately

14. True or False: Adequate pain control in dying patients may require higher opioid doses than previously used.

True

False

15. Which symptom is most common in the last hours of life?

Fever

Rapid weight gain

Rattling respirations

Increased consciousness

16. A patient with metastatic cancer requests assistance with hastened death. What is the nurse's ethical responsibility?

Honor the request without question

Report the request and ensure comfort care; clarify goals of care

Refuse to care for the patient

Inform only the family

17. Which approach best supports a family experiencing anticipatory grief?

Avoid discussing the patient's condition

Provide education and encourage expression of feelings

Minimize time spent with the dying patient

Focus solely on medical interventions

18. A dying patient reports severe dyspnea. Which nursing action is most helpful?

Apply oxygen at high flow rates

Position upright and administer opioids as ordered

Restrict visitors to reduce stimulation

Encourage deep breathing exercises

19. True or False: Palliative care is only appropriate when curative treatment has failed.

True

False

20. Which sign indicates a patient is entering the active dying phase?

Increased appetite

Mottled skin and irregular breathing

Improved mental clarity

Increased urinary output

21. A patient in the terminal phase refuses food and fluids. What is the nurse's primary intervention?

Insert a feeding tube

Provide comfort measures and oral care

Encourage family to force feeding

Notify the physician of malnutrition

End-of-Life Quiz: Can You Provide Comfort Care?

1. Which intervention is contraindicated for a patient with terminal agitation?

2.

What first name or nickname would you like us to use?

2. True or False: Bereavement support should end immediately after the patient's death.

3. Which sign suggests a patient has accepted their impending death?

4. A dying patient's family requests aggressive resuscitation despite a DNR order. What is the appropriate nursing action?

5. The nurse should assess for spiritual distress in end-of-life patients by____.

6. Which nursing action best prevents aspiration in a dying patient?

7. A patient with advanced dementia cannot communicate wishes. Who should guide end-of-life decisions?

8. True or False: Patients in a coma cannot hear conversations around them.

9. Which cultural consideration is most important when providing end-of-life care?

10. A family member asks if morphine will hasten death. How should the nurse respond?

11. The primary goal of palliative care is to____.

12. Which medication is most appropriate for managing severe pain in a dying patient?

13. A patient expresses fear about dying alone. What is the most therapeutic nursing response?

14. True or False: Adequate pain control in dying patients may require higher opioid doses than previously used.

15. Which symptom is most common in the last hours of life?

16. A patient with metastatic cancer requests assistance with hastened death. What is the nurse's ethical responsibility?

17. Which approach best supports a family experiencing anticipatory grief?

18. A dying patient reports severe dyspnea. Which nursing action is most helpful?

19. True or False: Palliative care is only appropriate when curative treatment has failed.

20. Which sign indicates a patient is entering the active dying phase?

21. A patient in the terminal phase refuses food and fluids. What is the nurse's primary intervention?