CARN Patient Education & Support Strategies 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A patient with alcohol use disorder is being discharged. Which education topic is highest priority to reduce risk of life-threatening complications?
- Dietary restrictions for a low-sodium diet
- Signs and symptoms of alcohol withdrawal including seizures and delirium tremens (Correct answer)
- Benefits of joining a gym for physical health
- How to manage mild insomnia with herbal teas
Correct answer: Signs and symptoms of alcohol withdrawal including seizures and delirium tremens
Alcohol withdrawal can progress to seizures and delirium tremens, which are potentially fatal, making this the highest priority discharge education topic.
Question 2: Which type of coping skill education is most evidence-based for patients with co-occurring PTSD and substance use disorder?
- Teaching patients to suppress trauma-related thoughts to avoid distress
- Integrated trauma-informed approaches such as Seeking Safety (Correct answer)
- Encouraging patients to address trauma only after 5 years of sobriety
- Focusing solely on 12-step attendance without addressing PTSD
Correct answer: Integrated trauma-informed approaches such as Seeking Safety
Seeking Safety is an evidence-based, integrated intervention that simultaneously addresses PTSD and substance use without requiring trauma processing.
Question 3: A patient asks about the HALT acronym taught in relapse prevention education. What does HALT stand for?
- Hopeless, Angry, Lonely, Tired
- Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired (Correct answer)
- Hesitant, Anxious, Listless, Troubled
- Hostile, Apathetic, Lethargic, Tense
Correct answer: Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired
HALT stands for Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired — emotional and physical states that increase vulnerability to relapse.
Question 4: When educating a patient about harm reduction strategies for injection drug use, the nurse should include information about:
- How to obtain prescription opioids legally to replace street drugs
- Using clean syringes, never sharing equipment, and wound care (Correct answer)
- Restricting fluids to reduce vein damage
- Avoiding all contact with other people who use drugs
Correct answer: Using clean syringes, never sharing equipment, and wound care
Harm reduction education includes syringe exchange programs, sterile equipment use, and wound care to reduce infection and disease transmission risk.
Question 5: A nurse is using motivational interviewing during a patient education session. Which nurse statement best reflects the MI principle of 'affirmation'?
- 'You really need to stop using or things will get much worse.'
- 'You mentioned you've been sober for two weeks — that takes real strength.' (Correct answer)
- 'Have you considered that your family is suffering because of your choices?'
- 'Most patients in your situation end up relapsing within the first month.'
Correct answer: 'You mentioned you've been sober for two weeks — that takes real strength.'
Affirmation in motivational interviewing involves recognizing and acknowledging the patient's strengths and efforts to build rapport and self-efficacy.
Question 6: Which statement about nicotine use in patients with substance use disorder is accurate and should be included in patient education?
- Smoking cessation should always be addressed after achieving sobriety from all other substances
- Treating nicotine dependence concurrently with other SUDs improves overall recovery outcomes (Correct answer)
- Nicotine replacement therapy is contraindicated in patients with opioid use disorder
- Patients with SUD are not interested in quitting tobacco and should not be counseled
Correct answer: Treating nicotine dependence concurrently with other SUDs improves overall recovery outcomes
Research shows that addressing nicotine dependence concurrently with other substance use disorders does not jeopardize sobriety and improves long-term outcomes.
Question 7: A patient expresses shame about their addiction during an education session. The most therapeutic nursing response is to:
- Agree that making better choices sooner would have been ideal
- Redirect the conversation immediately to medication adherence
- Validate their feelings while emphasizing that addiction is a chronic brain disease, not a moral failure (Correct answer)
- Remind the patient of their responsibilities to their family
Correct answer: Validate their feelings while emphasizing that addiction is a chronic brain disease, not a moral failure
Validating feelings while framing addiction as a chronic brain disease reduces shame and stigma, which are significant barriers to treatment engagement.
CARN Patient Education & Support Strategies 3
A patient with alcohol use disorder is being discharged.
Which education topic is highest priority to reduce risk of life-threatening complications?