A client with arthritis tells the nurse that applying heat to the joints helps relieve the pain. What would be the basis for the nurse's follow-up teaching?

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: The basis for the nurse's follow-up teaching is that heat increases blood flow, dilating vessels to deliver oxygen and nutrients to arthritic joints, relaxing muscles and easing stiffness-related pain. This physiological effect underpins heat therapy's benefit in arthritis. Choice B, heat numbs nerve endings, is inaccurateheat soothes, but numbing is more cold's domain; it doesn't block nerve signals. Choice C, heat reduces inflammation, is misleadingheat may feel good but can worsen acute inflammation; arthritis pain relief here ties to chronic stiffness, not swelling reduction. Choice D, heat distracts from pain, oversimplifiesdistraction occurs, but increased circulation is the primary mechanism. Choice A is correct, guiding nurses to explain heat's vascular benefits, reinforcing safe use (e.g., warm packs) and pairing it with other therapies, enhancing the client's self-management of chronic arthritis pain.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale: The best response is Take the medication at bedtime,' as it leverages drowsinessa common opioid side effectto aid sleep, a frequent issue in chronic pain, while maintaining pain control. Timing adjusts impact without altering the regimen. Choice A, stop taking it, risks uncontrolled pain, dismissing a manageable side effect over the drug's benefit. Choice C, you'll get used to it, assumes tolerance develops, which may notdrowsiness can persist, disrupting daytime function. Choice D, reporting to the physician, may follow, but nurses first offer practical solutions; this isn't urgent. Choice B is correct, empowering the client with a strategy nurses often suggest, aligning dose with lifestyle, reducing daytime sedation, and enhancing comfort, with follow-up if issues persist.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: The basis of the nurse's response is slowed digestion, as opioid analgesics bind to gut mu receptors, decreasing peristalsis and delaying bowel motility, causing constipationa frequent, mechanism-based side effect. This explains its predictability. Choice B, reduced appetite, may occur with nausea but doesn't directly cause constipationmotility, not intake, is key. Choice C, increased fluid loss, is unrelated; opioids don't dehydrate bowelsstool hardens from slow transit. Choice D, allergic reaction, is wrongconstipation is a pharmacological effect, not hypersensitivity. Choice A is correct, enabling nurses to clarify this GI impact, recommending prophylactics (e.g., laxatives) and hydration to counteract slowed digestion, ensuring clients maintain comfort and bowel function while on chronic pain meds.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: The basis of the nurse's response is reduced saliva production, as some chronic pain meds (e.g., opioids, antidepressants) have anticholinergic effects, inhibiting salivary gland activity, causing dry moutha side effect tied to their pharmacology. This explains its occurrence. Choice B, increased thirst, is a result, not the causedryness drives thirst, not vice versa. Choice C, allergic reaction, is wrong; dry mouth is a common effect, not a rare hypersensitivity sign. Choice D, rapid absorption, affects onset, not salivadryness stems from receptor action. Choice A is correct, guiding nurses to explain this mechanism, offering hydration or sugar-free gum to ease discomfort, ensuring clients manage this tolerable side effect while continuing pain relief therapy.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale: The nursing process is a systematic framework with five steps: assessment, nursing diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation. The nursing diagnosis step (Choice B) is where the nurse analyzes data collected during assessment to identify the patient's responses to actual or potential health problems, such as 'Risk for Infection' or 'Acute Pain.' Assessment (Choice A) involves gathering subjective and objective data (e.g., vital signs, patient history), but it doesn't involve interpreting those findings into specific responsesthat happens in the nursing diagnosis phase. Planning (Choice C) follows, where the nurse sets goals and interventions based on the diagnosis, while evaluation (Choice D) assesses whether those goals were met. For example, if a patient reports pain and the nurse notes a fever, the nursing diagnosis might be 'Acute Pain related to inflammation,' a conclusion drawn only after assessment data is analyzed. Thus, identifying responseswhether current or at-riskoccurs distinctly in the nursing diagnosis step, making Choice B the correct answer.