A patient appears confused and disoriented during a consultation. What is the nurse's priority?

Correct Answer: B

Rationale: The nurse's priority when a patient appears confused and disoriented during a consultation is to provide clear and simple explanations and assess for any underlying causes of confusion. It is essential to ensure that the patient understands the information being provided and to address any potential reasons for the confusion, such as medication side effects, medical conditions, or cognitive impairment. Ignoring the patient's confusion or assuming they cannot understand can lead to misunderstandings, errors in care, and ultimately jeopardize the patient's well-being. It is crucial to approach the situation with empathy, patience, and a focus on ensuring effective communication and understanding between the nurse and the patient.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: A grieving individual may show a range of cues across different aspects of their life. Thoughts may include constant preoccupation with the loss, difficulties in concentrating, or intrusive thoughts. Feelings may involve sadness, anger, guilt, confusion, or relief. Behavioral cues may include changes in sleep patterns, appetite, energy levels, social withdrawal, or the use of substances. Physiologic complaints can manifest as headaches, stomach issues, fatigue, or other physical symptoms. Therefore, when a nurse observes cues related to thoughts, feelings, behavior, and physiologic complaints in a patient, it can suggest that the patient is grieving for a loss.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: Scabies is a contagious skin infestation caused by the Sarcoptes scabiei mite. The classic presentation of scabies includes a rash characterized by erythematous papules and vesicles that are arranged in a linear or burrow-like distribution. These linear tracks are often seen in areas such as the interdigital spaces, wrists, elbows, axillae, belt line, and genitalia. It is commonly associated with intense itching, especially at night. Unlike psoriasis, which presents with silvery scales and well-defined borders, or contact dermatitis, which results from exposure to a specific allergen or irritant, scabies is caused by a parasitic mite infestation. Atopic dermatitis, on the other hand, is a chronic inflammatory skin condition characterized by pruritic eczematous lesions, but it typically does not manifest with a linear distribution of lesions like scabies.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale: The symptoms described by the patient indicate a potential transfusion reaction, such as a hemolytic reaction or allergic reaction. The immediate action the nurse should take in such a situation is to stop the infusion of the packed red blood cells. This will help prevent further complications and ensure the safety of the patient. After stopping the infusion, the nurse should assess the patient's condition, monitor vital signs, and inform the healthcare team, including the physician, regarding the situation. Once the patient is stable, further investigations can be conducted to determine the cause of the reaction.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale: Nurse Parker functioned independently when she initiated the visit by arranging for the clergy to see patient Ximena. In this scenario, the nurse took the initiative on her own without needing approval or direction from others. She recognized the patient's request for spiritual guidance and took independent action to meet that need. Independently functioning in this context demonstrates the nurse's autonomy and ability to make decisions based on the patient's preferences and well-being.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: The nurse's priority action when noticing a spill of bodily fluids on the floor while preparing the operating room for a surgical procedure is to clean up the spill using appropriate infection control measures. This is essential to prevent the spread of infections and ensure a safe surgical environment for both patients and healthcare providers. Cleaning up the spill promptly and properly reduces the risk of contamination and subsequent infections. Once the spill is cleaned up, the nurse can then proceed with documenting the spill, placing warning signs to alert others, and continuing with the preparation of the OR as planned. But the initial priority is to eliminate the immediate threat posed by the spill through proper cleaning and infection control measures.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale: Incident reports (IR) are filed in the Records Section of the hospital. It is important for incident reports to be kept in the Records Section for various reasons. By being filed in the hospital's official records, incident reports are included in the hospital's documentation of events, which is crucial for legal and quality improvement purposes. Placing IRs in the Records Section ensures that they are accessible to relevant personnel who may need to refer to them in the future for investigations, audits, or further actions related to the incidents. Keeping incident reports in a centralized location like the Records Section also helps in standardizing the process of documenting and tracking incidents, maintaining consistency and accountability within the healthcare facility.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale: In the scenario described, with the patient having an acute exacerbation of chronic kidney disease (CKD) leading to hyperkalemia and metabolic acidosis, the priority intervention to manage the metabolic derangements is to perform emergent hemodialysis for potassium removal. Hemodialysis is the most effective and rapid method to lower dangerously high potassium levels in the blood. It is crucial in cases of severe hyperkalemia where other measures such as medications or dietary modifications may not be sufficient or fast enough to correct the elevated potassium levels. Additionally, hemodialysis can also help in improving metabolic acidosis by removing waste products and excess electrolytes from the blood. Overall, emergent hemodialysis is the most appropriate intervention for managing the acute metabolic abnormalities in this critically ill patient.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: The patient's presentation of excessive thirst, frequent urination, and fatigue align with the classic symptoms of diabetes mellitus. The laboratory findings of hypernatremia (high sodium levels), hyperglycemia (high blood sugar levels), and metabolic acidosis further support this diagnosis. In diabetes mellitus, the body is unable to properly regulate blood sugar levels due to either insufficient insulin production (Type 1 diabetes) or ineffective use of insulin by the cells (Type 2 diabetes). This leads to high blood sugar levels, causing symptoms such as polyuria (frequent urination), polydipsia (excessive thirst), and fatigue. The metabolic acidosis is a result of the body's breakdown of fats and proteins for energy due to the lack of glucose utilization in the cells.