CARN Patient Education & Support Strategies 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When educating a patient with low health literacy about opioid tapering, which communication strategy is most effective?
- Use medical terminology to maintain professionalism
- Provide a detailed 20-page pamphlet for home review
- Use the teach-back method with simple, plain language (Correct answer)
- Delegate all education to the pharmacist
Correct answer: Use the teach-back method with simple, plain language
The teach-back method with plain language confirms patient understanding and is the gold standard for low-literacy populations.
Question 2: A patient in early recovery asks why they should avoid over-the-counter cough medicines containing dextromethorphan (DXM). What is the best explanation?
- DXM interacts with most antibiotics
- DXM has dissociative properties and abuse potential that can trigger relapse (Correct answer)
- DXM causes liver damage in recovering patients
- DXM is only dangerous when combined with food
Correct answer: DXM has dissociative properties and abuse potential that can trigger relapse
DXM is a dissociative agent with significant abuse potential and can trigger relapse or cross-addiction in recovering individuals.
Question 3: Which approach best supports a patient's self-efficacy during addiction education sessions?
- Emphasizing the severity of consequences if they relapse
- Highlighting past failures to motivate change
- Setting small, achievable goals and celebrating incremental successes (Correct answer)
- Focusing education exclusively on pharmacological interventions
Correct answer: Setting small, achievable goals and celebrating incremental successes
Building self-efficacy through achievable goals and positive reinforcement strengthens a patient's belief in their ability to maintain recovery.
Question 4: A nurse is educating a patient about naloxone use. Which statement by the patient indicates a need for further teaching?
- I should call 911 after giving the naloxone
- Naloxone may need to be given more than once if fentanyl is involved
- Naloxone will prevent withdrawal symptoms if I take it daily (Correct answer)
- I should place the person in recovery position after administration
Correct answer: Naloxone will prevent withdrawal symptoms if I take it daily
Naloxone is an opioid antagonist used to reverse overdose, not to prevent withdrawal symptoms; using it as a daily preventative is incorrect.
Question 5: When providing education to a patient beginning buprenorphine therapy, the nurse should emphasize that sublingual films should be:
- Swallowed whole with water for faster absorption
- Chewed and then swallowed
- Held under the tongue until fully dissolved (Correct answer)
- Crushed and mixed with juice
Correct answer: Held under the tongue until fully dissolved
Buprenorphine sublingual films must be held under the tongue until fully dissolved to ensure proper absorption through the sublingual mucosa.
Question 6: A patient's family member asks how they can best support their loved one in recovery. Which response by the nurse is most therapeutic?
- Take control of all financial and social decisions for the patient
- Attend Al-Anon or similar family support groups and maintain healthy boundaries (Correct answer)
- Monitor all communications and limit the patient's independence
- Remove all stressors from the patient's life to prevent relapse
Correct answer: Attend Al-Anon or similar family support groups and maintain healthy boundaries
Family support groups like Al-Anon help family members develop healthy boundaries while providing peer support for their own wellbeing.
Question 7: When educating a pregnant patient about substance use disorder, which resource referral is most essential?
- A weight-loss program to improve nutrition
- A specialized perinatal addiction treatment program (Correct answer)
- A standard prenatal yoga class only
- An over-the-counter supplement guide
Correct answer: A specialized perinatal addiction treatment program
Perinatal addiction treatment programs provide coordinated care that addresses both substance use and obstetric needs simultaneously.
CARN Patient Education & Support Strategies 2
When educating a patient with low health literacy about opioid tapering, which communication strategy is most effective?