Chapter 17: Implementing

When the nurse is administering medication, an older adult client states, "Why does everyone keep asking my name? I've been here for days." How should the nurse respond to the client?

"We ask your name to ensure that we are treating the right client."

A nurse is providing care to several assigned clients and decides to delegate the task of morning vital signs to unlicensed assistive personnel. The nurse would assume responsibility and refrain from delegating this task for which client?

A client with a high fever receiving intravenous fluids, antibiotics, and oxygen

One hour after receiving pain medication, a postoperative client reports intense pain. What is the nurse's appropriate first action?

Assess the client to determine the cause of the pain.

The nurse is preparing to administer a blood pressure medication to a client. To ensure the client's safety, what is the priority action for the nurse to take?

Assess the client's blood pressure to determine if the medication is indicated.

Discharge plans for a client with a mental health disorder include living with family members. The nurse learns that the family is no longer willing to allow the client to live with them. What is the nurse's most appropriate action?

Collaborate with other disciplines to revise the discharge plans.

After instituting interventions to increase oxygenation, the client shows no signs of improvement. What is the nurse's priority action?

Communicate with the physician for additional orders.

The nurse must give instructions before discharge to a 13-year-old in a sickle cell crisis. Three of the client's friends from school are visiting. In order to assure effective instruction, what should the nurse plan to do?

Delay the instruction until the visitors leave.

Which are appropriate guidelines for the nurse to follow when delegating tasks to an unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP)? Select all that apply.

Delegate tasks that are within the UAP's scope of practice. Delegate tasks that involve minimal risk. Provide appropriate supervision when delegating tasks. Provide feedback to the UAP after the task is completed.

The client is in a rehabilitation unit after a traumatic brain injury. In order to facilitate the client's recovery, what would be the nurse's most appropriate intervention?

Encourage the client to provide as much self-care as possible.

A nurse is catheterizing a client. Which scenario demonstrates steps the nurse would take to ensure client respect and privacy?

Explain the procedure to the client, close the door to the room, and cover all areas of the client, only exposing the area for catheterization.

Which is an independent (nurse-initiated) action?

Helping to allay a client's fears about surgery

The nurse ascertains that a client is failing to follow the plan of care that was collaboratively developed. Further investigation determines that the plan of care is not appropriate for this client. What is the nurse's next step in correcting this problem?

Make changes in the plan of care based upon assessment data.

A client cannot afford the treatment prescribed. Who would be the most appropriate professional for the nurse to involve with the client's care?

Nurse case manager

The nurse is assigned a client who had an uneventful colon resection 2 days ago and requires a dressing change. To which nursing team member should the nurse avoid delegating the dressing change?

Nursing assistant

When the nurse enters the room to assess a client's vital signs, the client insists that the nurse perform handwashing. What is the nurse's most appropriate action?

Praise the client for taking an active role in the client's care.

Which task would be appropriate for the nurse to delegate to an unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP)?

Provide the client with assistance in transferring to the bedside commode.

A client with hypertension being seen for follow-up care has a blood pressure of 160/100 mm Hg. The client reports following the treatment regimen closely and that blood pressure readings have been elevated for the last 2 weeks. What is the nurse's most appropriate action?

Report the findings to the physician for further plans.

The nurse is caring for a postoperative client who is receiving morphine sulfate for pain management. The nurse obtains the following vital signs: heart rate, 74 beats/min; respiratory rate, 8 breaths/min; blood pressure, 114/68 mm Hg. After reviewing the nursing care plan and physician orders, the nurse administers naloxone. Which would allow the nurse to initiate this action?

Standing orders

The nurse has assessed a client and determined that the client has abnormal breath sounds and low oxygen saturation level. The nurse is performing what type of nursing intervention?

Surveillance

While auscultating a client's lung sounds, the nurse notes crackles in the left lower lobe, which were not present at the start of the shift. The nurse is engaged in which type of nursing intervention?

Surveillance

The registered nurse is working with an unlicensed assistive personnel. Which client should the nurse not delegate to the unlicensed assistive personnel?

The client with continuous pulse oximetry who requires pharyngeal suctioning.

A nurse who is experienced caring only for well babies is assigned to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) because of a shortage of nurses in the NICU. The nurse is assigned to an infant on a ventilator who will require blood transfusions during the shift. What is the nurse's mostappropriate course of action?

The nurse should inform the charge nurse that the nurse does not have the experience to properly care for this client.

A nurse is performing a sterile dressing change on a client's abdominal incision. While establishing the sterile field, the nurse drops the forceps on the floor. The nurse is unable to continue with the dressing change because there are no extra supplies in the room, and no one is present to bring new forceps. The nurse failed to organize:

equipment and personnel.

Before implementing a nursing intervention, which question(s) will the nurse ask oneself? Select all that apply.

"Is the client prepared for what needs to be done?" "Do I have all the necessary supplies and equipment needed?" "Do I have the skills to perform the intervention?" "Can I do the intervention alone or do I need help?" "Do any health care provider prescriptions need to be clarified?"

An 87-year-old client has been admitted to the hospital several times in the past few months for exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and elevated blood glucose levels. Which statement by the client could help identify the most likely reason for the changes in the client's health status?

"My wife's been gone for about 7 months now."

A client tells the nurse, "My doctor has told me I have to have a blood transfusion, but I am a Jehovah's Witness and I can't take one." What is the nurse's most appropriate intervention?

Discuss possible alternatives to a blood transfusion with the physician.

The nurse has assisted the client to ambulate for the first time. After returning the client to bed, what is the nurse's priority intervention?

Assess the client's response to the ambulation.

A nurse is preparing to educate a client about self-care after cataract surgery. Which should the nurse do first?

Determine the client's willingness to follow the regimen.

The nurse is coordinating care for a client with continuous pulse oximetry who requires pharyngeal suctioning. To which staff member should the nurse avoid delegating the task of suctioning?

Nursing assistant who is a nursing student

After learning about a client's limited financial resources and limited insurance benefits, the home care nurse modifies nursing interventions related to a client's care instructions. The nurse modifies the plan of care based upon which client variable?

Psychosocial background

A client recovering after an appendectomy is reporting pain. The nurse administers the ordered pain medication and assists the client to splint the incision. What is the nurse's next step in implementing the plan of care?

Reassess the client to determine the effectiveness of the interventions.

A client is admitted to the mental health center after attempting suicide. Which client concern is the priority for the nurse to manage?

Risk of self-harm

The nurse is caring for a 10-year-old client who is newly diagnosed with a seizure disorder. What variable would alter the nurse's plan for educating the client and parent?

The client has a 12-year-old sister who has been treated for a seizure disorder for 3 years.

Which nursing intervention is most likely to be allowed within the parameters of a protocol or standing order?

Administering a glycerin suppository to a constipated client who has not responded to oral stool softeners

The nurse is planning instruction on wound care to an adult client. What variables would cause the nurse to alter the education plan? Select all that apply.

The client is blind. The client denies the need for education.

A client with diabetes who has been closely following the prescribed plan of care for over a year is being seen at an outpatient facility. The client has not brought a log of daily glucose checks and tells the nurse, "I haven't been doing them regularly." What is the nurse's most therapeutic statement to the client?

"It seems like you are having difficulty with your care regimen."

Which action is a nursing intervention that facilitates lifespan care?

Educate family members about normal growth and development patterns.

During morning report, the night nurse tells the oncoming nurse that the client has been medicated for pain and is resting comfortably. Thirty minutes later, the client calls and requests pain medication. What is the nurse's appropriate first action?

Go to the client and assess the client's pain.

The nurse is caring for a client with congestive heart failure. The nurse manager informs the nurse that the client was enrolled in a clinical trial to assess whether a 10-minute walk, 3 times per day, leads to expedited discharge. Which type of evaluation best describes what the researchers are examining?

Outcome

As part of a client's plan of care, a nurse teaches a client's spouse how to perform a dressing change to the client's abdominal wound. Which method would be most effective to determine whether the spouse has mastered the skill?

Spouse performs the steps of the dressing change correctly.