Chapter 17

A client requires a change and reapplication of a colostomy bag. The nurse has never changed an ostomy bag before. What is the nurse's best course of action?

Ask a skilled nurse to assist with the procedure.

A nurse suspects that the client with Crohn's disease does not understand the medication regimen or diet modifications required to manage the illness. What is the nurse's most appropriate action?

Ask the client to verbalize the medication regimen and diet modifications required.

The surgeon is insisting that a client consent to a hysterectomy. The client says that she will not make a decision without her husband's consent. What is the nurse's best course of action?

Ask the surgeon to wait until the client has had a chance to talk to her husband.

The nurse has prepared to educate a client about caring for a new colostomy. When the nurse begins the instruction, the client states, "I am not ready to deal with this now. I am feeling overwhelmed." What is the nurse's most appropriate action?

Discontinue the education and attempt at another time.

The nurse is preparing a client for surgery when the client tells the nurse that he no longer wants to have the surgery. How should the nurse most appropriately respond?

Discuss with the client the reasons for declining surgery.

Nurses perform many independent nursing actions when caring for clients. Which action is considered an independent (nurse-initiated) action?

Helping to allay a client's fears about surgery

In the implementation step of the nursing process, a nurse is to utilize certain activities to be effective in the care of a client. Which activity is the priority?

Reassess client's needs.

The nurse is preparing to give the client a bath early in the morning. The client states, "I prefer to take my bath at night. It helps me sleep." What is the nurse's most appropriate action?

Reschedule the client's bath to the evening shift.

Nurse Mayweather is auscultating lung sounds. She notes crackles in the LLL which were not present at the start of the shift. Nurse Mayweather is engaged in which type of nursing intervention?

Surveillance intervention

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.

When caring for a client in the emergency room who has presented with symptoms of a (MI) myocardial infarction, the nurse orders laboratory tests and administers medication to the client before the physician has examined the client. In order for the nurse to be operating within the nurse's scope of practice, what conditions must be present?

The nurse is operating under standing orders for clients with MIs.

A nurse who is experienced caring only for well babies is assigned to the newborn intensive care nursery (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 most appropriate course of action?

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

One hour after receiving blood pressure medication, the client reports feeling lightheaded and dizzy. What is the nurse's first action?

Assess the client's blood pressure.

The nurse is planning to delegate a task to an unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP). What is the nurse's priority question to consider prior to this delegation?

Does this task fall within the scope of a UAP?

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.

As the nurse bathes a client, she notes his skin color and integrity, his ability to respond to simple directions, and his muscle tone. Which statement best explains why such continuing data collection is so important?

It enables the nurse to revise the care plan appropriately.

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

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

Nursing assistant who is a nursing student

The nurse is to delegate certain tasks to unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP). Which of the following tasks can be appropriately assigned to a UAP?

Provide client assistance to the bedside commode.

An indwelling urinary catheter has been ordered for a client experiencing urinary retention after surgery. When the nurse enters the room to place the catheter, the client reports voiding in the bathroom. What is the nurse's most appropriate action?

Reassess if the urinary catheter is still necessary for the client.

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 with hypertension being seen for follow-up care has a blood pressure of 160/100. 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.

Nursing interventions for the client after prostate surgery include assisting the client to ambulate to the bathroom. The nurse concludes that the client no longer requires assistance. What is the nurse's best action?

Revise the care plan to allow the client to ambulate to the bathroom independently.

The nurse is working with Ms. V. today. Ms. V. is having a difficult time accepting her new diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. Thenurse pulls up a chair next to Ms. V.'s bed and holds her hand while listening to her story. What type of nursing intervention is the nurse engaging in?

Supportive intervention

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

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.

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.

Nurses use the Nursing Outcomes Classification when choosing nursing goals for clients. What are the goals of the research that is behind the Nursing Outcomes Classification (NOC)? Select all that apply.

To identify, label, and validate nursing-sensitive client outcomes and indicators To evaluate the validity and usefulness of the classification in clinical field testing To define and test measurement procedures for the outcomes and indicators

What assessment data would indicate to the nurse at the conclusion of an education session that the client education was effective? Mark all that apply.

The client verbalizes understanding of the instructions. The client is able to answer the nurse's questions. The client discusses the specifics of what was taught during the session.

A client with diabetes, who has been closely following the prescribed plan of care for over a year, is being seen at an outpatient setting. 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."