A 26-year-old woman was robbed and beaten a month ago. She is returning to the clinic today for a follow-up assessment. The nurse will want to ask her which of these questions?

A) "How are things going with the trial?"
B) "How are things going with your job?"
C) "Tell me about your recent engagement!"
D) "Are you having any disturbing dreams?"

Following a traumatic event outside the range of usual human experience that involves actual or threatened death or violence, such as rape, many people experience posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). One of the symptoms of PTSD is sleep problems. With PTSD the person relieves the trauma many times, intrusively and unwillingly. The same feelings of helplessness, fear, or horror recur. Avoidance of any trigger associated with the trauma occurs, and the person has hypervigilance, sleep problems, and difficulty concentrating, leading to feelings of being permanently damaged. The nurse should assess for symptoms of PTSD and options A, B, and C do not assess for those symptoms.