NURS 252 - Final Exam Questions with
Correct Answers Graded to Pass 2026-
2027 Update.
Loss, grief, and bereavement - Answer - Grief, bereavement and mourning often seen as
interchangeable
- Bereavement
o There's been a loss
- Grief
o Response to loss
- Mourning
o Socially and culturally prescribed behaviors you have around that time
§ Socially and culturally initiated
- physical loss
- emotional loss
- Loss does not only refer to death of an individual
- Often one loss is superimposed on another, especially later in life
o Accumulation of losses may incapacitate individual
o May cause bereavement overload, or continual grieving
Grief work - Answer - Grief work is the grieving process
- Many models and theories available to explain and predict human response
- Kübler-Ross well known for describing stages of grief
- Coping skills influence this
,5 stages of grief Elisabeth Kubler-Ross - Answer - Denial: initial reaction, feeling of shock &
disbelief.
- Anger: emotional outburst, placing blame on others, anger at God
- Bargaining: temporary truce, "if only" statements, we want to bargain for life to return the way
it was.
- Depression: intense sadness, withdrawal from others, it hard to get out of bed, hard to get
through the day, feeling alone, unsure of how to carry on.
- Acceptance: accepting the reality of the death, able to let go and move on, intense grief
lessens, life starts to return to some resemblance of normal.
- *may be in different orders
- Guide to explain how people are reacting
- Help to provide interventions based on reactions
Loss response model - Answer - Improve understanding of grieving
- Assist nurses in caring and comforting those who are/have experienced a loss
o Part of a system striving to maintain equilibrium or stability
o Loss causes disequilibrium or instability
- Normal aspects of daily living might be difficult or impossible to accomplish
- As nurses, can help with asking appropriate questions
Types of grief - Answer - Grieving takes an enormous amount of physical and emotional
energy
- Different types
o Anticipatory
§ Mourn ahead of time
, § response to a real or perceived loss before it occurs
o Acute
§ Cant focus on what they need to do
§ crisis
§ definite syndrome of somatic, functional, and emotional symptoms of distress that occur in
waves of varying lengths of time during the period of impact
o Shadow
§ moments of intermittent sadness
§ Triggers
· Smells
· people
o Complicated
§ grief that does not lessen over the months or even years after the loss
§ prolonged grief
o Disenfranchised
§ Can't outwardly mourn
§ Cant grieve or socialize
Coping - Answer - Grief Assessment
o Help determine who is able to cope effectively and who is not
o Look at present and past stress management techniques of patient and family
§ Be aware of detrimental stress management techniques (ex. Substance abuse)
§ Potential for conflicting feelings (relief vs. grief, guilt, etc.)
· Interventions as needed
Impact and functional and emotional disruption - Answer - Impact is the time of the loss
(functional, death, independence, etc.)
- Provide safe environment with basic needs
o Food
o Shelter
Correct Answers Graded to Pass 2026-
2027 Update.
Loss, grief, and bereavement - Answer - Grief, bereavement and mourning often seen as
interchangeable
- Bereavement
o There's been a loss
- Grief
o Response to loss
- Mourning
o Socially and culturally prescribed behaviors you have around that time
§ Socially and culturally initiated
- physical loss
- emotional loss
- Loss does not only refer to death of an individual
- Often one loss is superimposed on another, especially later in life
o Accumulation of losses may incapacitate individual
o May cause bereavement overload, or continual grieving
Grief work - Answer - Grief work is the grieving process
- Many models and theories available to explain and predict human response
- Kübler-Ross well known for describing stages of grief
- Coping skills influence this
,5 stages of grief Elisabeth Kubler-Ross - Answer - Denial: initial reaction, feeling of shock &
disbelief.
- Anger: emotional outburst, placing blame on others, anger at God
- Bargaining: temporary truce, "if only" statements, we want to bargain for life to return the way
it was.
- Depression: intense sadness, withdrawal from others, it hard to get out of bed, hard to get
through the day, feeling alone, unsure of how to carry on.
- Acceptance: accepting the reality of the death, able to let go and move on, intense grief
lessens, life starts to return to some resemblance of normal.
- *may be in different orders
- Guide to explain how people are reacting
- Help to provide interventions based on reactions
Loss response model - Answer - Improve understanding of grieving
- Assist nurses in caring and comforting those who are/have experienced a loss
o Part of a system striving to maintain equilibrium or stability
o Loss causes disequilibrium or instability
- Normal aspects of daily living might be difficult or impossible to accomplish
- As nurses, can help with asking appropriate questions
Types of grief - Answer - Grieving takes an enormous amount of physical and emotional
energy
- Different types
o Anticipatory
§ Mourn ahead of time
, § response to a real or perceived loss before it occurs
o Acute
§ Cant focus on what they need to do
§ crisis
§ definite syndrome of somatic, functional, and emotional symptoms of distress that occur in
waves of varying lengths of time during the period of impact
o Shadow
§ moments of intermittent sadness
§ Triggers
· Smells
· people
o Complicated
§ grief that does not lessen over the months or even years after the loss
§ prolonged grief
o Disenfranchised
§ Can't outwardly mourn
§ Cant grieve or socialize
Coping - Answer - Grief Assessment
o Help determine who is able to cope effectively and who is not
o Look at present and past stress management techniques of patient and family
§ Be aware of detrimental stress management techniques (ex. Substance abuse)
§ Potential for conflicting feelings (relief vs. grief, guilt, etc.)
· Interventions as needed
Impact and functional and emotional disruption - Answer - Impact is the time of the loss
(functional, death, independence, etc.)
- Provide safe environment with basic needs
o Food
o Shelter
