ATI Capstone Adult Medical Surgical Assessment 1 Related

Review ATI Capstone Adult Medical Surgical Assessment 1 related questions and content

A nurse is planning care for a group of postoperative clients. Which of the following interventions should the nurse identify as the priority?

  • A. Administer IV pain medication to a client who reports pain as a 6 on a scale of 0 to 10
  • B. Administer oxygen to a client who has an oxygen saturation of 91%
  • C. Instruct a client who is 1 hr postoperative about coughing and deep breathing exercises
  • D. Initiate an infusion of 0.9% sodium chloride for a client who has just had abdominal surgery
Correct Answer: B

Rationale: The priority intervention is administering oxygen. Postoperatively, the client's oxygen saturation should be at or above 95%. Oxygen is essential for tissue perfusion and cellular oxygenation. While managing pain is important, oxygenation takes precedence. Instructing a client about coughing and deep breathing exercises is important for preventing respiratory complications but is not as urgent as addressing low oxygen saturation. Initiating an infusion of 0.9% sodium chloride is a routine postoperative intervention for fluid balance but is not the priority when oxygen saturation is low.