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The perioperative nurse has completed the presurgical assessment of an 82-year-old female patient who is scheduled for a left total knee replacement. When planning this patients care, the nurse should address the consequences of the patients aging cardiovascular system. These include an increased risk of which of the following?
- A. Hypervolemia
- B. Hyponatremia
- C. Hyperkalemia
- D. Hyperphosphatemia
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The aging heart and blood vessels have decreased ability to respond to stress. Reduced cardiac output and limited cardiac reserve make the elderly patient vulnerable to changes in circulating volume and blood oxygen levels. There is not an increased risk for hyponatremia, hyperkalemia, or hyperphosphatemia because of an aging cardiovascular system.
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The circulating nurse is admitting a patient prior to surgery and proceeds to greet the patient and discuss what the patient can expect in surgery. What aspect of therapeutic communication should the nurse implement?
- A. Wait for the patient to initiate dialogue.
- B. Use medically acceptable terms.
- C. Give preoperative medications prior to discussion.
- D. Use a tone that decreases the patients anxiety.
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: When discussing what the patient can expect in surgery, the nurse uses basic communication skills, such as touch and eye contact, to reduce anxiety. The nurse should use language the patient can understand. The nurse should not withhold communication until the patient initiates dialogue; the nurse most often needs to initiate and guide dialogue, while still responding to patient leading. Giving medication is not a communication skill.
A patient is scheduled for surgery the next day and the different phases of the patients surgical experience will require input from members of numerous health disciplines. How should the patients care best be coordinated?
- A. By planning care using a surgical approach
- B. By identifying the professional with the most knowledge of the patient
- C. By implementing an interdisciplinary approach to care
- D. By using the nursing process to guide all aspects of care and treatment
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: An interdisciplinary approach involving the surgeon, anesthesiologist or anesthetist, and nurse is best. This is superior to each of the other listed options.
The surgical patient is a 35-year-old woman who has been administered general anesthesia. The nurse recognizes that the patient is in stage II (the excitement stage) of anesthesia. Which intervention would be most appropriate for the nurse to implement during this stage?
- A. Rub the patients back.
- B. Restrain the patient.
- C. Encourage the patient to express feelings.
- D. Stroke the patients hand.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: In stage II, the patient may struggle, shout, or laugh. The movements of the patient may be uncontrolled, so it is essential the nurse help to restrain the patient for safety. None of the other listed actions protects the patients safety.
While the surgical patient is anesthetized, the scrub nurse hears a member of the surgical team make an inappropriate remark about the patients weight. How should the nurse best respond?
- A. Ignore the comment because the patient is unconscious.
- B. Discourage the colleague from making such comments.
- C. Report the comment immediately to a supervisor.
- D. Realize that humor is needed in the workplace.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Patients, whether conscious or unconscious, should not be subjected to excess noise, inappropriate conversation, or, most of all, derogatory comments. The nurse must act as an advocate on behalf of the patient and discourage any such remarks. Reporting to a supervisor, however, is not likely necessary.
An intraoperative nurse is applying interventions that will address surgical patients risks for perioperative positioning injury. Which of the following factors contribute to this increased risk for injury in the intraoperative phase of the surgical experience? Select all that apply.
- A. Absence of reflexes
- B. Diminished ability to communicate
- C. Loss of pain sensation
- D. Nausea resulting from anesthetic
- E. Reduced blood pressure
Correct Answer: A,B,C
Rationale: Loss of pain sense, reflexes, and ability to communicate subjects the intraoperative patient to possible injury. Nausea and low blood pressure are not central factors that contribute to this risk, though they are adverse outcomes.