Study Guide for Fundamentals of Nursing Care: Concepts, Connections & Skills - The Nursing Process: Critical Thinking and Decision Making Related

Review Study Guide for Fundamentals of Nursing Care: Concepts, Connections & Skills - The Nursing Process: Critical Thinking and Decision Making related questions and content

You have passed your NCLEX-PN examination and have just been employed as an LPN on a medical surgical unit. The registered nurse (RN) in charge asks you to do the admission assessment on a new patient who has just arrived by ambulance from a long-term care facility. The patient had undergone a total hip replacement within the previous 2 weeks and has developed a fever. You tell the nurse you thought an LPN could not do the admission assessment or, at most, could do only certain portions of it. The nurse, who is very busy, says, 'Please just do it. I'll cosign it, so it will be fine.' Which of the following actions should you take next?

  • A. Call the supervisor to discuss the nurse's instructions to you.
  • B. Refuse to do the admission assessment but offer to get the patient settled in, take his vital signs, and review the chart for orders.
  • C. Check the facility's policy manual.
  • D. Do the assessment as requested.
Correct Answer: B,C

Rationale: Checking the facility's policy manual (C) ensures you act within your scope of practice. Refusing to do the admission assessment but offering to perform tasks within your role (B) is appropriate, as LPNs typically cannot perform initial admission assessments, which are reserved for RNs.