CPHON Psychosocial Support and Family-Centered Care

Question 1

A parent of a newly diagnosed pediatric cancer patient asks the nurse why the child life specialist is visiting their child. Which response best explains the child life specialist's role?

Accepted Answer

Child life specialists use therapeutic play, preparation, and coping strategies to help children manage the stress of illness and medical procedures

Answer

Child life specialists are trained professionals who address the psychological and developmental needs of hospitalized children through therapeutic play, procedural preparation, distraction, and coping skill development.

Question 2

The parents of a 4-year-old with leukemia are divorcing during treatment. The child has become clingy, regressed to bedwetting, and refuses to let go of parents when they leave. The nurse should:

Accepted Answer

Acknowledge this is expected stress response, validate parental concerns, involve child life, and communicate the behavior pattern to the oncology social worker

Answer

Regression and separation anxiety are normal stress responses in young children facing medical illness plus family disruption. The appropriate nursing response is validation, child life involvement, and social work referral to support the whole family system.

Question 3

Which communication approach is most appropriate when a CPHON nurse needs to discuss a child's terminal prognosis with the family?

Accepted Answer

Use clear, compassionate, jargon-free language; assess what the family already knows; follow the child's lead regarding inclusion; and ensure a private, quiet setting

Answer

Best practice for delivering serious news involves choosing a private setting, assessing prior knowledge, using plain language, listening to the family's emotional response, and including age-appropriate communication with the child per their cues and parental guidance.

Question 4

A mother of a child receiving cancer treatment tells the nurse she feels guilty that she 'gave' her child cancer. Which response is most therapeutic?

Accepted Answer

Acknowledge her feelings, then gently educate that childhood cancer is not caused by anything parents did, and refer to the social worker

Answer

Parental guilt is extremely common following a child's cancer diagnosis. Therapeutic response involves first acknowledging the emotional experience, then offering evidence-based reassurance that most childhood cancers have no known parental cause, and connecting the family with psychosocial support.

Question 5

Family-centered care (FCC) in pediatric oncology nursing is best defined as:

Accepted Answer

A philosophy of care that recognizes the family as the constant in the child's life and integrates the family as partners in all aspects of care

Answer

Family-centered care recognizes that the family is the primary source of strength for the child; it involves families as full partners in care planning, decision-making, and daily caregiving activities across all settings.

CPHON Exam Practice Test

CPHON Exam Practice Test

CPHON Psychosocial Support and Family-Centered Care