What I Should Have Responsed

     I have been studying with NCLEX-RN 10,000 – Powered by PrepU for a month now. The questions are more difficult than I had expected. However, the contents of the questions are related to situations which are more likely to happen in a realistic medical field. Studying these questions are very useful when you work indeed. 
      When I worked as a nurse in Japan, I encountered these situations and often had a dilemma. I didn't know what I should have said to patients and their families. I took an exam for registered nurse in Japan 13 years ago, so I don't remember what was on the exam, but I think I tried to memorize pathological, pharmacological and anatomical studies mostly. Therefore, how nurses respond in situations for moral support were sometimes various. As a nurse, of course, I needed to care for patients emotionally, but I didn't actually learn how to deal with their mental conflicts and grief. When my patient who was near death expressed fear and anxiety, I didn't know what I should have done to reduce their stress. I never said, "Are you afraid of dying?", which is the right response in this situation according to the U.S textbook for RN. I never said those words to terminal patients the words which were pertinent to death. However, I learned from my textbook that helping them to verbalize their fear is very important for emotional supports. If I had known that fact 13 years ago, I could have dealt with those situations better.
     Studying for NCLEX is not easy for me, but I am not bored from it somehow. It's because I desire to become a better nurse.