A newly admitted patient diagnosed with schizophrenia says, "The voices are bothering me. They yell and tell me I'm bad. I have got to get away from them." Select the nurse's most helpful reply.

A) "Do you hear the voices often?"
B) "Do you have a plan for getting away from the voices?"
C) "I will stay with you. Focus on what we are talking about, not the voices."
D) "Forget about the voices. Ask some other patients to sit and talk with you."

Staying with a distraught patient who is hearing voices serves several purposes: ongoing observation, the opportunity to provide reality orientation, a means of helping dismiss the voices, the opportunity of forestalling an action that would result in self-injury, and general support to reduce anxiety. Asking if the patient hears voices is not particularly relevant at this point. Asking if the patient plans to "get away from the voices" is relevant for assessment purposes but is less helpful than offering to stay with the patient while encouraging a focus on their discussion. Asking other patients to talk incorrectly shifts responsibility for intervention from the nurse to other patients.