A licensed practical nurse arrives at work at the long-term care center and is immediately faced with several activities that require attention. Which activity will the nurse attend to first?
- A. Task assignments for the day
- B. Stocking the medication closet
- C. A phone message from employee health services
- D. A phone message from a client's wife
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The nurse's priority should be attending to task assignments for the day. This ensures that client care can begin promptly and efficiently. Stocking the medication closet is important but can be done after ensuring task assignments are clear. Phone messages from employee health services and a client's wife, although important, can be addressed after organizing the staff for client care.
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A graduate nurse hired to work in a medical unit of a hospital is attending an orientation session. The nurse educator, discussing care maps, asks the graduate nurse whether she understands how a care map is used. Which response indicates understanding?
- A. The care map outlines the day-to-day expected outcomes of care and the outcomes anticipated at discharge
- B. The care map is a plan that is used only by the nurse to provide client care
- C. The care map is a standard plan, rather than an individualized one, that is developed strictly by a nurse and used for a client with a particular diagnosis
- D. The care map is developed by a nurse and identifies nursing diagnoses
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The correct answer is A. A care map, also known as a critical pathway, outlines the day-to-day expected outcomes of care and the outcomes anticipated at discharge or the end of a treatment phase. It includes clinical assessments, treatments, dietary interventions, activity therapies, client education, and discharge planning. While it may identify nursing diagnoses, a care map is developed by all disciplines caring for the client type and is used by the interdisciplinary team, not just the nurse alone. Choice B is incorrect because a care map is not solely for the nurse but for the entire interdisciplinary team. Choice C is incorrect as care maps are individualized plans developed by the interdisciplinary team, not just by a nurse. Choice D is incorrect as a care map is not solely about nursing diagnoses but encompasses a comprehensive plan of care.
A director of nursing at a long-term care center has announced a change to computerized documentation of nursing care. A certified nursing assistant (CNA) on the team, resistant to the change, is not taking an active part in facilitating the implementation of the new procedure. Which strategy would be the best approach to dealing with the conflict?
- A. Meeting with the CNA and encouraging him to express his feelings regarding the change
- B. Ignoring the resistance
- C. Telling the CNA that a licensed practical nurse (LPN) will perform all computer documentation while he documents intake and output and vital signs
- D. Telling the CNA that noncompliance will be documented in the personnel record
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The best approach to dealing with resistance to change is through open communication and understanding. Meeting with the CNA and encouraging him to express his feelings regarding the change allows for a constructive dialogue where issues can be addressed, and alternative solutions can be explored. Ignoring the resistance does not help in resolving the conflict and may lead to further issues. Telling the CNA that a licensed practical nurse (LPN) will perform all computer documentation while he documents intake and output and vital signs does not address the underlying concerns of the CNA and may create more resistance. Threatening the CNA with noncompliance consequences may escalate the resistance and create a negative work environment.
A health care provider asks the nurse caring for a client with a new colostomy to request the hospital's stoma nurse to visit the client and assist with colostomy care. The nurse initiates the consultation, understanding that the stoma nurse will be able to influence the client because of which type of power?
- A. Expert power
- B. Referent power
- C. Coercive power
- D. Reward power
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Power is the ability to influence others to achieve goals. Expert power results from knowledge and skills that one possesses that are needed by others. In this scenario, the stoma nurse's expertise in colostomy care gives them the ability to influence the client effectively. Reward power is based on the ability to grant rewards and favors, which is not applicable in this situation. Coercive power is based on fear and the ability to punish, which is not the case in seeking assistance for colostomy care. Referent power results from followers' desire to identify with a powerful person, which is not the primary influence in this context.
Which of these clients should the LPN/LVN see first?
- A. a client with a newly placed NG tube who is complaining of pain around the face and a plugged nose
- B. a post-op prostatectomy client who complains of bladder spasms and blood in his foley bag
- C. a client in an arm cast who is 2 days post-op and reports feelings of numbness and tingling in her affected arm
- D. a client newly diagnosed with Hepatitis A who reports stomach pain and itchy skin
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Numbness and tingling hours or days after a cast is applied may indicate compartment syndrome and should be reported to a medical provider right away. This is a potential emergency situation that requires immediate attention to prevent complications. The other options present expected or typical symptoms related to their diagnosis, which do not require immediate intervention. Complaints related to a newly placed NG tube such as pain around the face and a plugged nose may require assessment and intervention but are not as urgent as potential compartment syndrome. Bladder spasms and blood in the foley bag post-prostatectomy are common postoperative issues that can be addressed after the client in the arm cast with potential compartment syndrome is seen. Stomach pain and itchy skin in a client with Hepatitis A are common symptoms of the condition and do not indicate an emergency situation.
A nurse in a medical-surgical unit overhears the nursing staff openly discussing a client and stating that the client is uncooperative and a real pain to care for. The nurse would most appropriately manage this issue by taking which action?
- A. Leaving articles about judgmental opinions in the nurses' report room
- B. Reporting the nurses' comments to administration
- C. Discouraging the judgmental comments
- D. Ignoring the comments made about the client
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Nurses must discuss clients in a professional manner and avoid using judgmental language such as 'uncooperative' or 'difficult.' When such comments and language are discouraged, fewer comments will be made. Ignoring the comments is an inappropriate option because the concern will not be addressed. Leaving articles about judgmental opinions in the nurses' report room indirectly addresses the issue, but there is no guarantee that the staff will read them. Reporting the nurses' comments to administration does not directly address the issue. The best approach for the nurse is to discourage judgmental comments directly with the staff members. Since this action is not provided in the options, discouraging judgmental comments is the most appropriate way to manage this concern.