Client's potassium is $7.0 \mathrm{mEq} / \mathrm{dL}$. Which prescription should the nurse administer first?
- A. Calcium gluconate IV
- B. Sodium polystyrene enema
- C. Spironolactone oral
- D. Dextrose 10\% IV
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: With potassium at 7.0 mEq/dL, calcium gluconate IV goes first, not polystyrene, spironolactone, or dextrose. Hyperkalemia risks arrhythmias calcium stabilizes cardiac membranes fast, buying time. Polystyrene lowers potassium slowly, spironolactone's diuretic, and dextrose needs insulin. Leadership acts here imagine peaked T-waves; calcium prevents arrest, ensuring safety. This reflects nursing's emergency prioritization, aligning with cardiac stability effectively.
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As a nurse manager, you want to institute point-of-care devices on your unit. The rationale that you provide to support the point-of-care devices includes:
- A. reduction in incidents of medication error
- B. immediate documentation of care
- C. comparison of patient data with previous data
- D. immediate access to staffing schedules
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Point-of-care devices, like bedside scanners or tablets, enhance care by enabling real-time actions. A primary rationale is reducing medication errors e.g., through bar-code scanning to verify drugs and patient identity before administration, catching mistakes instantly. This directly improves safety, a compelling argument for adoption. Immediate documentation and data comparison are benefits, streamlining workflow and informing decisions, but error reduction is a stronger, more urgent driver tied to patient outcomes. Access to staffing schedules is unrelated to clinical care delivery. Emphasizing medication error reduction highlights a tangible, evidence-supported impact, aligning with safety priorities and likely securing support for implementation.
A nurse from a facility's float pool receives an assignment to float on a nursing unit. The float nurse tells the charge nurse that she has never worked on this unit before. How should the charge nurse respond?
- A. I will assign you to work with a registered nurse on the unit who is experienced and will act as a resource for you'
- B. You'll figure it out as you go'
- C. I'll reassign you elsewhere'
- D. Work only with the AP staff'
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: A float nurse unfamiliar with a unit needs support to ensure competent care. Responding I will assign you to work with a registered nurse on the unit who is experienced and will act as a resource for you' provides a skilled mentor, easing the transition with real-time guidance on unit specifics protocols, clients, equipment. This leverages the float pool's purpose, builds capacity, and safeguards quality, especially with likely future floats. Figure it out' risks errors from inexperience, reassigning wastes resources, and limiting to APs restricts scope and learning. Pairing with an RN fosters collaboration, confidence, and safety, aligning with leadership's role in resource allocation and staff development.
A nurse is caring for a client who is postoperative following abdominal surgery and has a nasogastric (NG) tube to low intermittent suction. Which of the following findings should the nurse report to the provider?
- A. Absence of bowel sounds
- B. NG tube output of 200 mL in 4 hours
- C. Abdominal distension
- D. Gastric residual of 50 mL
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Post-abdominal surgery, an NG tube to low intermittent suction decompresses the stomach, aiding recovery. Absence of bowel sounds indicates ileus paralysis of intestinal motility a potential complication like obstruction or peritonitis, requiring provider notification for imaging or intervention. NG output of 200 mL in 4 hours (50 mL/hr) is expected, removing fluid or gas, while distension may occur but isn't urgent unless worsening with other signs. Gastric residual of 50 mL is minimal, not concerning with suction. Absent bowel sounds signal a critical deviation, demanding prompt reporting to prevent escalation, reflecting the nurse's role in vigilant postoperative monitoring.
Which of the following is expert power
- A. Leader can exercise power as a result of their position in the organisation
- B. Leader has power because of their expert knowledge
- C. Leader has power because subordinates trust him/her
- D. Leader can punish staff who do not comply with instructions
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Expert power stems from knowledge not position, trust, or punishment. Nurse leaders like clinical specialists wield this, contrasting with formal authority. In healthcare, it builds credibility, aligning leadership with skill.
A nurse is reviewing informed consent with a client who is scheduled for a cardiac catheterization. Which of the following is the responsibility of the nurse?
- A. Explaining the procedure's risks
- B. Obtaining the client's signature
- C. Verifying the client's understanding of the procedure being performed
- D. Scheduling the procedure
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The nurse's role in informed consent is to ensure the client comprehends the procedure, supporting autonomy and legal standards. Verifying the client's understanding of the cardiac catheterization its purpose, process, and implications confirms they can articulate it, ensuring consent is truly informed, not just signed. Explaining risks is the provider's duty, as they perform the procedure and bear legal responsibility for disclosure. Obtaining the signature is procedural but secondary to comprehension, often a clerical task. Scheduling is logistical, unrelated to consent. Verification bridges provider explanation and client decision, empowering the client and protecting the healthcare team by validating that consent reflects genuine understanding, not coercion or confusion.