Practice Prioritizing Questions

Which of the following patient should be seen first by the oncoming nurse? A. A 60-year-old female requesting an antacid and feeling sweaty B. A 59-year-old male post cardiac cath by 8 hours. C. A 28-year-old female diagnosis with asthma who just received a treatment by respiratory therapy D. A diabetic whose blood glucose was 120 one hour ago

A

You have just received the morning report from the night shift nurses. List the order of priority for assessing and caring for these patients? A. A patient who developed tumor lysis syndrome around 0500. B. A patient with frequent reports of break through pain over the past 24 hours. C. A patient scheduled for exploratory laparotomy this morning. D. A patient with anticipatory nausea and vomiting for the past 24 hours.

A, C, B, D

Nurse Channing is caring for four clients and is preparing to do his initial rounds. Which client should the nurse assess first? A. A client with diabetes being discharged today B. A 35-year-old male with tracheostomy and copious secretions C. A teenager scheduled for physical therapy this morning D. A 78-year-old female client with pressure ulcer that needs dressing change

B

The new graduate nurse is having difficulty managing the time required to care for a group of complex clients and is several hours behind in completing nursing interventions. Of the following outstanding tasks, which nursing intervention should the nurse complete first? A. Complete a medication reconciliation form on a client who has recently been admitted to the hospital B. Administer a dose of digoxin (lanoxin) that is 2 hours behind schedule C. Obtain discharge orders for a client who is ready to be transferred to a long-term nursing facility D. Perform a dressing change to an abdominal abscess that is 3 hours behind schedule.

B

A nurse is reviewing her assignments. Which patient should she assess first? A. 12-hour-old infant who is small for gestational age B. Three-day-old infant waiting for discharge C. Four-hour-old infant with a cardiac defect D. Nine-hour-old infant who has not voided

C

A telephonic case management nurse notes that a cardiac client's weight has increased 5 lbs in the last two days and the clients blood pressure is elevated, as measure by the clients home telephonic equipment. When calling the client to evaluate, which of the following questions should the nurse ask first? A. "How are you feeling today?" B. "Are you experiencing any shortness of breath?" C. "How is the swelling in your legs?" D. "When did you last calibrate your equipment?"

B

Sally is a nurse working in an emergency department and receives a client after a radiological incident. Which task is utmost priority for the nurse to do first? A. Decontaminate the client's clothing B. Decontaminate the open wound on the client's thigh C. Decontaminate the examination room the client is placed in D. Save the client's vomitus for analysis by the radiation safety staff

B

When checking a client's medication profile, a nurse notes that the client is receiving a drug contraindicated for clients with glaucoma. The nurse knows that this client, who has a history of glaucoma, has been taking the medication for the past 3 days. What should the nurse do first? A. Find out whether there are extenuating reasons for giving the drug for this client. B. Hold the medication and report information to the doctor to ensure client safety. C. Continue giving medication because client has been taking it for 3 days. D. File an incident report because several other staff members have given the medication to the client.

B

A nurse is using time management techniques when planning activities for patients. Which nursing action reflects effective time management? A. The nurse asks patients what is their priority to accomplish each day. B. The nurse includes a "nice to do" for every "need to do" task on the list. C. The nurse "front loads" the schedule with "must do" priorities. D. The nurse avoids helping other nurses if scheduling does not permit it

A

The nurse plans care for a client in a post anesthesia care unit. The nurse should assess first the clients': A. Respiratory status B. Level of consciousness C. Level of pain D. Reflexes and movement of extremities

A

When assessing an elderly client, a nurse on the day shift notes redness in the sacral region. Close assessment reveals small breaks in the skin surface. The client says the area is tender and must have lost skin when a nursing assistant on the previous shift moved him. He tells the nurse, "The nursing assistant on the last shift was rough. I asked her to look at my backside, but she told me she was too busy." What should the nurse do first? A. Document her findings B. Prepare an incident report C. Prepare a disciplinary warning for the nursing assistant D. Contact the shift supervisor

A

Emergency Department triage is an important nursing function. A nurse working the evening shift is presented with four patients. Which one should be assigned the highest priority? A. Patient with low-grade fever, headache, and myalgia for 72 hours B. Patient unable to bear weight on the left foot with swelling and bruising following a running accident C. Patient with abdominal and chest pain following a large, spicy meal D. Child with one inch bleeding laceration on the child but otherwise well after falling while jumping on his bed.

C

Nurse Skye is on the cardiac unit caring for four clients. He is preparing to do initial rounds. Which client should the nurse assess first? A. A client scheduled for cardiac ultrasound this morning B. A client with syncope being discharged today C. A client with chronic bronchitis on nasal oxygen D. A client with diabetic foot ulcer that needs a dressing change

C

After change of shift, you are assigned to care for the following patients. Which patient should you assess first? A. A 60-year-old patient on a ventilator for whom a sterile sputum specimen must be sent to the lab. B. A 55-year-old with COPD and a pulse oximetry reading from the previous shift of 90% saturation. C. A 70-year-old with pneumonia who needs to be started on intravenous (IV) antibiotics. D. A 50-year-old with asthma who complains of shortness of breath after using a bronchodilator

D

The home care nurse has four phone calls to answer. Which phone call should the home care nurse respond to first? A. A client who received chemotherapy yesterday and is reporting nausea and vomiting B. A client who was discharged two days ago with a urinary catheter after a transurethral prostatectomy and is reporting pink-tinged urine C. A client with schizophrenia who says that the police has surrounded the house D. The wife of a client with chronic heart disease who reports her husband is coughing frothy, white secretions and became confused during the night.

D