CNO - College of Nurses of Ontario Nurse-Client Relationships Questions and Answers

Question 1

A community health nurse has provided care to a client for several months.
The client's health goals have been met, and services are being discontinued.
According to the CNO's Therapeutic Nurse-Client Relationship standard, which action is essential during the termination phase of the relationship?

Accepted Answer

Reviewing the client's progress and summarizing the goals achieved together.

Answer

Exchanging personal phone numbers to stay in touch socially.

Answer

Promising the client that the nurse will visit them as a friend in the future.

Answer

Abruptly stopping all communication to encourage client independence.

Question 2

A nurse is caring for a client newly diagnosed with a chronic illness who expresses feeling overwhelmed and alone. The nurse also has the same chronic illness. When considering the use of self-disclosure, what is the nurse's primary consideration?

Accepted Answer

Whether the disclosure will serve a therapeutic purpose for the client.

Answer

Whether the disclosure will make the nurse feel more connected to the client.

Answer

How much personal detail the nurse is comfortable sharing with the client.

Answer

If the nurse's manager would approve of sharing personal health information.

Question 3

A client is hesitant to ask questions about their diagnosis, stating, "You're the expert, I don't want to bother you." How should the nurse best respond to address the inherent power imbalance in this therapeutic relationship?

Accepted Answer

Acknowledge the client's feelings and create a safe, collaborative environment for them to ask questions.

Answer

Provide the client with a pamphlet about their diagnosis to read on their own time.

Answer

Tell the client that it's their right to be informed and they must ask questions.

Answer

Document in the chart that the client is non-participatory in their care planning.

Question 4

Which of the following is the best example of appropriate professional intimacy within a nurse-client relationship?

Accepted Answer

Gently holding a distressed client's hand while providing emotional support.

Answer

Sharing details about the nurse's own challenging family situation to build rapport.

Answer

Asking a client for details about their romantic life to offer personal advice.

Answer

Inviting a client to a personal social gathering after they are discharged.

Question 5

The CNO standards identify empathy as a key component of the therapeutic nurse-client relationship. How is empathy best described in this context?

Accepted Answer

Understanding the client's perspective and communicating that understanding back to them.

Answer

Feeling pity or sorrow for the client's unfortunate circumstances.

Answer

Sharing the client's feelings and experiencing the same emotions.

Answer

Maintaining a detached and purely objective professional distance from the client.

Question 6

A client in a long-term care facility asks a nurse for their personal social media profile to connect online. What is the nurse's most appropriate initial action to maintain professional boundaries?

Accepted Answer

Gently explain that their relationship is professional, not personal, and therefore decline the request.

Answer

Accept the request to avoid hurting the client's feelings but limit interactions online.

Answer

Report the client's request to the manager as an example of inappropriate behaviour.

Answer

Ignore the request and change the subject to a different topic to avoid confrontation.