Nursing Elites

1. The nurse in the emergency room is admitting a client who has sustained a gunshot wound and will require immediate surgery. The client is unconscious and by themselves. Which of the following actions is most appropriate?

• A. Call the charge nurse and request that the facility's legal counsel provide a waiver for informed consent.
• B. Attempt to stabilize the client in the emergency room until they are conscious enough to provide informed consent.
• C. Try to locate the client's family to obtain informed consent before transporting the client to the operating room.
• D. Proceed with transporting the client to the operating room without obtaining informed consent.

Correct answer: D

Rationale: In emergency situations where a client is unconscious and requires immediate surgery to save their life, the priority is to proceed with necessary interventions without delay to ensure the best possible outcome. Obtaining informed consent is essential in healthcare, but in situations where a delay in treatment can be life-threatening, healthcare providers are ethically and legally permitted to proceed with treatment without consent. Attempting to stabilize the client until conscious enough to provide consent or trying to locate family members for consent would cause a dangerous delay in critical care. Therefore, the most appropriate action in this scenario is to transport the unconscious client to the operating room for immediate surgery.

2. Priorities designated as intermediate by the nurse are:

• A. the nonemergency, non-life-threatening needs of the client.
• B. those tasks that can be delegated to assistive personnel.
• C. those tasks that can be performed at the end of the shift.
• D. those tasks that can be performed at any time

Correct answer: A

Rationale: Priorities designated as intermediate by the nurse are those that are not urgent but still important, such as the nonemergency, non-life-threatening needs of the client. They do not impact the client's immediate physiological status but require attention. Intermediate priorities may need the skill level of an RN for completion and may have specific time requirements. Choices B, C, and D are incorrect because the priority being intermediate doesn't mean it can be delegated, done at a specific time, or done at any time; it simply indicates a non-urgent but necessary task for the client's well-being.

3. After receiving a recent tattoo, someone should be screened for:

• A. tuberculosis.
• B. herpes.
• C. hepatitis.
• D. syphilis.

Correct answer: C

Rationale: After receiving a recent tattoo, screening for hepatitis is crucial due to the risk of blood-borne hepatitis B or C if strict sterile procedures are not followed during the tattooing process. Tuberculosis is an airborne pathogen and is not directly related to receiving a tattoo. Herpes and syphilis are infections spread through direct contact, such as sexual contact, and are not typically associated with tattooing.

4. A nurse discusses staff empowerment with the nursing team. The nurse explains that staff empowerment has which function?

• A. Fosters the growth of others so that they are less dependent on the leader
• B. Means that the staff has the power to reprimand and punish any individual who is not meeting the standards of care delivery
• C. Indicates that the nurse leader will make decisions regarding the nursing unit and expects that the staff will comply with the changes
• D. Allows the staff to make every decision regarding employee scheduling

Correct answer: A

Rationale: Staff empowerment fosters the growth of others and facilitates their development so that they are less dependent on their leader. This empowerment is about enhancing skills and autonomy, not about reprimanding or punishing others (Choice B). Empowerment involves shared decision-making and autonomy, not unilateral decision-making by the leader (Choice C). Moreover, staff empowerment does not mean that staff should make every decision regarding operational aspects like employee scheduling (Choice D). It is primarily focused on developing individuals' capabilities and fostering independence within the team.

5. Which of the following clients would be most appropriate for an LPN to assign to a nursing assistant?

• A. an 18-year-old client with a femur fracture who is just returning to the floor from the recovery unit
• B. an 84-year-old client 2 days post-op after knee replacement surgery who needs help ambulating
• C. a 35-year-old client who is suffering from an acute asthma attack
• D. a 20-year-old client with Cystic Fibrosis who needs an early morning sputum sample collection

Correct answer: D

Rationale: Collecting sputum samples on stable clients is within the scope of practice for an LPN. This task does not require immediate intervention or assessment by an RN or medical provider. An RN should perform the initial assessment on any client immediately post-op as it requires a higher level of assessment and monitoring. A client suffering from an acute asthma attack should be attended to by an RN or medical provider due to the potential severity and need for prompt intervention. Assigning a medically stable client who needs help ambulating to a nursing assistant is appropriate as it falls within their scope of practice and allows the LPN to focus on tasks that require their expertise.

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