Practice Question
A nurse is Interviewing a client who is now without a home due to a natural disaster. After ensuring the client's safety, which of the following actions should the nurse take first?
Answer Choices:
Correct Answer:
Determine the client's perception of the personal impact of the crisis.
Rationale:
🔶 In crisis intervention, after physical safety is ensured, the nurse’s first priority is to assess the client’s perception of the event and its impact.
🔶 Different clients experience the same event differently; understanding the client’s subjective view guides all further interventions.
🔶 This assessment helps identify specific emotional responses, coping mechanisms, and areas of greatest distress.
🔶 Without this information, referrals and support may be mismatched to the client’s actual needs.
🔶 Therefore, the nurse should first determine the client’s perception of the personal impact of the crisis before implementing other steps.
Assist the client with contacting individuals from the client's support system
🔶 Mobilizing social support is an important part of crisis intervention, but it comes after assessment of the client’s perceptions and coping.
🔶 Some clients may feel ashamed, conflicted, or unsafe contacting certain support people, which the nurse will learn only by assessment first.
🔶 Acting before understanding the client’s feelings could add to their stress or sense of loss of control.
🔶 Once the client’s perceptions and preferences are clarified, the nurse can collaboratively identify appropriate support persons.
🔶 Thus, contacting the support system is important but not the first step after safety is ensured.
Give the client information about available community resources for shelter
🔶 Providing resource information is necessary, but it is part of planning and intervention, which comes after assessment in the nursing process.
🔶 The nurse should first understand the client’s immediate emotional state, priorities, and coping capacity.
🔶 Resource needs may vary depending on whether the client has family options, financial means, or particular vulnerabilities.
🔶 If the nurse skips assessment, the support offered could be inefficient or overwhelming.
🔶 Therefore, community resource information is not the first step after ensuring safety.
Suggest the client obtain mental health counseling
🔶 While mental health counseling is often beneficial after a major disaster, the nurse must first assess the client’s perception and needs.
🔶 Immediately suggesting counseling without understanding the client’s experience may feel premature or invalidating.
🔶 The client may need basic stabilization, support, and problem-solving before considering formal therapy.
🔶 Counseling referral fits into a later phase of intervention and follow-up, not the initial step after safety.
🔶 Thus, suggesting counseling is helpful but not the first action in crisis care.
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This question is from RN ATI VATI comprehensive practice 2025 which contains 120 questions.
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Question Details
- Category: RN Nursing Exam(s)
- Subcategory: ATI EXIT Exam(s)
- Domain: RN ATI Comprehensive Predictor Exam(s)~2025
- Answer Choices: 4