CFN Trauma-Informed Care Strategies 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which communication strategy is most consistent with trauma-informed care when a patient is reluctant to disclose abuse?
- Persistently asking the same question until the patient responds
- Reassuring the patient that disclosure is mandatory for treatment
- Using open-ended statements and allowing silence without pressure (Correct answer)
- Informing the patient that legal action will follow regardless of disclosure
Correct answer: Using open-ended statements and allowing silence without pressure
Open-ended statements and comfortable silence allow the patient to disclose at their own pace without feeling coerced.
Question 2: A CFN is caring for a male sexual assault survivor who minimizes his injuries. The nurse's best approach is to:
- Challenge his minimization to ensure accurate documentation
- Acknowledge his experience without judgment and proceed at his comfort level (Correct answer)
- Refer him immediately to a male provider
- Focus only on physical injuries and avoid discussing the assault
Correct answer: Acknowledge his experience without judgment and proceed at his comfort level
Non-judgmental acknowledgment validates the survivor's experience and encourages engagement with care, regardless of gender.
Question 3: The principle of 'trustworthiness and transparency' in trauma-informed care requires the forensic nurse to:
- Share all patient information with law enforcement proactively
- Explain each step of the forensic exam process before performing it (Correct answer)
- Maintain a professional distance to avoid emotional involvement
- Limit patient questions to preserve objectivity
Correct answer: Explain each step of the forensic exam process before performing it
Explaining each step before performing it builds trust and allows the patient to maintain a sense of control.
Question 4: When a trauma survivor exhibits hypervigilance during a forensic exam, the nurse should recognize this as:
- Non-compliance requiring behavioral intervention
- A neurobiological trauma response that requires a slower, patient-centered approach (Correct answer)
- Evidence of substance intoxication requiring toxicology screening
- A sign of malingering that should be noted in the chart
Correct answer: A neurobiological trauma response that requires a slower, patient-centered approach
Hypervigilance is a neurobiological survival response to trauma, and adapting the pace of care is the appropriate clinical response.
Question 5: Which of the following best illustrates the trauma-informed principle of 'empowerment' in forensic nursing practice?
- The nurse decides the order of procedures to maximize efficiency
- The patient is given choices about which injuries to document first (Correct answer)
- The nurse limits options to avoid overwhelming the patient
- Law enforcement guides the sequencing of the forensic exam
Correct answer: The patient is given choices about which injuries to document first
Offering choices during the exam restores the patient's sense of control, which trauma often strips away.
Question 6: A forensic nurse working with a refugee who experienced torture should first:
- Conduct a standard forensic exam without modification
- Assess for interpreter needs, cultural considerations, and specific torture-related trauma responses (Correct answer)
- Defer the exam until a psychiatric clearance is obtained
- Focus solely on physical documentation as cultural factors are outside nursing scope
Correct answer: Assess for interpreter needs, cultural considerations, and specific torture-related trauma responses
Assessing language needs and cultural context before beginning is essential to providing safe, trauma-informed care for torture survivors.
Question 7: Documentation in trauma-informed forensic nursing should:
- Use clinical language only to maintain objectivity
- Include the patient's own words in quotes to accurately capture their account (Correct answer)
- Avoid emotional details that could bias the legal process
- Be completed after the patient leaves to avoid distracting the nurse during the exam
Correct answer: Include the patient's own words in quotes to accurately capture their account
Quoting the patient's own words in documentation preserves the authenticity of the disclosure and strengthens evidentiary value.
CFN Trauma-Informed Care Strategies 3
Which communication strategy is most consistent with trauma-informed care when a patient is reluctant to disclose abuse?