Goals and desired outcomes for an older adult patient experiencing delirium caused by fever and dehydration will focus on:

A) returning to premorbid levels of function.
B) identifying stressors negatively affecting self.
C) demonstrating motor responses to noxious stimuli.
D) exerting control over responses to perceptual distortions.

The desired overall goal is that the patient with delirium will return to the level of functioning held before the development of delirium. Demonstrating motor responses to noxious stimuli is an appropriate indicator for a patient whose arousal is compromised. Identifying stressors that negatively affect the self is too nonspecific to be useful for a patient experiencing delirium. Exerting control over responses to perceptual distortions is an unrealistic indicator for the patient with sensorium problems related to delirium.