Grief and Loss Practice Test 2
Grief and Loss NCLEX Practice Test
Grief and Loss is a key topic within the NCLEX test plan, located under Psychosocial Integrity → Coping and Adaptation → Grief and Loss. This section supports normal and complex grief with empathetic communication and psychosocial resources. Each test contains 50 questions designed to mirror the difficulty and variety of the real exam.
This is the 2nd part of the Grief and Loss series. To explore all practice tests under this topic, use the “Back to Main Topic” button at the end of the page.
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In the Grief and Loss Study Cards section, shared by real NCLEX candidates, you’ll find concise summaries and high-yield insights related to the most tested concepts. It’s a perfect space to reinforce challenging topics and sharpen your recall through quick, focused repetitions. Short, powerful, and repeatable!
Grief and Loss Practice Test 2
An elderly client at the end of life is visited by family members. One begins to cry and asks the nurse, "Will you please stay for a few minutes?" The nurse has other clients to care for as well. Which statement by the nurse is the most helpful?
- "I am busy right now but can stay for a few minutes."
- "I can call the clergy to come sit with you."
- "I can stay and sit with you if you would like."
- "I don't think I should interrupt your family time."
Explanation: Answer reason: " Therapeutic communication during end-of-life care prioritizes presence and emotional support while also maintaining safe care responsibilities for other patients. This option acknowledges the family member’s request and offers immediate, realistic support within the nurse’s time limits, which can reduce distress and convey caring. Offering clergy as the first response may miss the family’s immediate need for the nurse’s supportive presence and can feel like deflection. Saying the nurse shouldn’t interrupt or offering open-ended time without boundaries can either shut down support or create an unrealistic commitment.
A dilatation and curettage (D&C) is scheduled for a primigravid client admitted to the hospital at 10 weeks' gestation with abdominal cramping, bright red vaginal spotting, and passage of some of the products of conception. The nurse should assess the client further for the expression of which of the following feelings?
- Ambivalence.
- Anxiety.
- Fear.
- Guilt.
Explanation: Answer reason: Pregnancy loss commonly triggers grief responses that include self-blame, especially in a first pregnancy where the client may search for a personal cause. The presentation (cramping, bleeding, passage of products) with planned D&C is consistent with miscarriage management, a situation strongly associated with guilt feelings that may be unspoken unless directly assessed. Identifying guilt is important because it can complicate normal grieving and increase risk for depression or impaired coping. Anxiety and fear can occur around hospitalization/procedure, but they are less specific to miscarriage-related grief than self-blame is.
On entering the room of a client who has undergone a dilatation and curettage (D&C) for a spontaneous abortion, the nurse finds the client crying. Which of the following comments by the nurse would be most appropriate?
- Are you having a great deal of uterine pain?
- Commonly spontaneous abortion means a defective embryo.
- I'm truly sorry you lost your baby.
- You should try to get pregnant again as soon as possible.
Explanation: Answer reason: Therapeutic communication during perinatal loss prioritizes acknowledging the loss and validating the client’s feelings without offering clichés, minimizing statements, or unsolicited advice. This statement conveys empathy and recognition of the baby as a meaningful loss, which supports healthy grieving and invites further expression. Focusing first on pain assessment shifts away from the immediate emotional need and can feel dismissive. Explaining causes (e.g., “defective embryo”) or encouraging rapid future pregnancy can be experienced as blaming or minimizing and is not appropriate in the moment of acute grief.
The home health nurse makes a home visit to an older male client who was recently widowed. Which observation is most important for the nurse to address?
- Possessions of deceased spouse laying around the house untouched.
- Pile of dirty laundry in the bathroom.
- Prepares canned soup with toast for dinner.
- Canceled yearly trip with friends to Florida.
Explanation: Answer reason: Social withdrawal and loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities after a major loss can indicate complicated grief or depression and raises concern for impaired coping and safety risks (e.g., isolation, worsening mood, suicidality). This change reflects diminished functioning and a disruption of support systems, which is a higher-priority psychosocial issue to assess and intervene on. Keeping possessions untouched and minor housekeeping issues are common, non-urgent manifestations of normal grief and adjustment. A simple meal choice may be suboptimal nutrition but is less concerning than abandonment of meaningful social engagement and routines.
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