Nokea
The nurse is preparing to assess a patient’s abdomen by palpation. How should the nurse proceed?
- A. Avoid palpating reportedly “tender†areas as this may cause pain.
- B. Palpate tender areas quickly to minimize patient discomfort.
- C. Initiate the assessment with deep palpation while encouraging the patient to relax and take deep breaths.
- D. Begin the assessment with light palpation to detect surface characteristics and to acclimate the patient to touch.
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: The correct approach is to begin the assessment with light palpation to detect surface characteristics and to acclimate the patient to touch. This allows the nurse to first assess surface features before proceeding to deeper palpation. Starting with light palpation also helps the patient become more comfortable with being touched, creating a smoother examination experience. Palpating tender areas quickly, as suggested in choice B, can increase patient discomfort. Deep palpation, as in choice C, is typically performed after light palpation to avoid discomfort and ensure proper assessment. Avoiding palpation of tender areas first, as in choice A, helps prevent causing unnecessary pain and should be done towards the end of the assessment.
You may also like to solve these questions
An experienced healthcare professional instructs a new colleague on caring for a patient with dyspnea due to a pulmonary fungal infection. Which action by the new colleague indicates a need for further teaching?
- A. Listening to the patient's lung sounds several times during the shift
- B. Placing the patient in droplet precautions and in a private hospital room
- C. Increasing the oxygen flow rate to maintain oxygen saturation above 90%
- D. Monitoring the patient's serology results to identify the specific infecting organism
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The correct answer is placing the patient in droplet precautions and in a private hospital room. Fungal infections are not transmitted from person to person, so isolation procedures like droplet precautions are unnecessary. Listening to the patient's lung sounds, increasing the oxygen flow rate, and monitoring serology results are all appropriate actions in caring for a patient with dyspnea caused by a pulmonary fungal infection.
The healthcare professional is preparing to use a stethoscope for auscultation. Which statement is true regarding the diaphragm of the stethoscope?
- A. Used to listen for high-pitched sounds
- B. Used to listen for low-pitched sounds
- C. Should be firmly held against the person's skin to block out low-pitched sounds
- D. Should be lightly held against the person's skin to listen for extra heart sounds and murmurs
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The diaphragm of the stethoscope is designed for listening to high-pitched sounds like breath, bowel, and normal heart sounds. It should be firmly held against the person's skin to ensure optimal sound transmission, leaving a ring after use. On the other hand, the bell of the stethoscope is ideal for detecting soft, low-pitched sounds such as extra heart sounds or murmurs. Therefore, the diaphragm is not used to block out low-pitched sounds but rather to enhance the detection of high-frequency sounds.
During a heritage assessment, which question is most appropriate for the nurse to ask?
- A. "Do you smoke?"?
- B. "What is your religion?"?
- C. "Do you have a history of heart disease?"?
- D. "How many years have you lived in the United States?"?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: During a heritage assessment, it is crucial for the nurse to ask questions related to a person's country of ancestry, years in the United States, cultural practices, beliefs, and values. By asking about the number of years lived in the United States, the nurse can gain insights into the individual's cultural background and heritage. Options B, C, and A are not directly related to assessing heritage. Asking about religion only addresses one aspect of heritage, while smoking history and health history do not provide a comprehensive view of a person's heritage.
After a class on culture and ethnicity, the new graduate nurse reflects a correct understanding of the concept of ethnicity with which statement?
- A. "Ethnicity is dynamic and ever-changing."?
- B. "Ethnicity is the belief in a higher power."?
- C. "Ethnicity pertains to a social group that may possess shared traits such as religion and language."?
- D. "Ethnicity is learned from birth through the processes of language acquisition and socialization."?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Ethnicity pertains to a social group that may possess shared traits such as common geographic origin, migratory status, religion, language, values, traditions, or symbols and food preferences. Culture is dynamic, ever-changing, and learned from birth through the processes of language acquisition and socialization. Religion is the belief in a higher power. Ethnicity pertains to a social group within the social system that claims to have variable traits, such as a common geographic origin, migratory status, religion, race, language, values, traditions, symbols, or food preferences.
When performing a physical assessment, what technique should the nurse always perform first?
- A. Palpation
- B. Inspection
- C. Percussion
- D. Auscultation
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: During a physical assessment, the nurse should always begin with inspection. The sequence of techniques for physical examination is inspection, palpation, percussion, and auscultation. These skills are performed in a specific order, except for the abdominal assessment where auscultation precedes palpation and percussion. Inspection allows the nurse to observe and gather initial information without direct contact. It is a crucial step that provides valuable insights before proceeding to palpation, percussion, and auscultation. Therefore, choice B, 'Inspection,' is the correct answer. Choices A, C, and D are incorrect because they should follow inspection in the sequence of a comprehensive physical assessment.