Which of the following nursing interventions would be most important for determining fluid balance in a client with end-stage renal failure?

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: In end-stage renal failure, kidneys cannot regulate fluid balance, often producing little to no urine. Weighing the patient daily is the most reliable way to assess fluid status, as weight changes reflect fluid gain or loss (1 kg ≈ 1 L). Monitoring urine specific gravity is less useful with minimal urine output. Measuring intake and output helps but is less precise due to insensible losses (e.g., sweating). Bowel movements don't directly indicate fluid balance. Daily weight provides a consistent, objective measure, critical for managing fluid overload or dehydration in this population, guiding treatment like dialysis.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: Friction is the most critical in hand washing, mechanically removing dirt, microbes, and oils from skin surfaces, especially crevices. Soap emulsifies germs, water rinses, and time (40-60 seconds) ensures thoroughness, but friction drives efficacy. Nurses rely on this per CDC guidelines, reducing infection transmission, as chemical agents alone can't dislodge all pathogens without physical action.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: Mrs. Caperlac's low-sodium, low-fat diet reflects a health belief personal convictions about behaviors that impact health, grounded in evidence linking diet to blood pressure control. This aligns with the Health Belief Model, where individuals adopt practices based on perceived benefits (e.g., managing hypertension). It's not a cultural belief, which stems from group traditions, as no cultural context is specified. A personal belief might involve individual preferences (e.g., disliking salt), but her practice ties directly to a health outcome, not mere opinion. Superstitious beliefs rely on irrational assumptions (e.g., avoiding black cats), unrelated to her evidence-based dietary choice. Her decade-long adherence demonstrates a deliberate health-focused strategy, informed by medical advice, making health belief the most fitting classification for her proactive management of hypertension.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: Critical thinking is the mental process of analyzing information, forming conclusions, making decisions, drawing inferences, and reflecting key in nursing for evaluating patient data and planning care. For example, a nurse uses it to interpret vital signs, decide interventions, and reflect on effectiveness. Intellectual humility is an attitude of openness, not a process. Thinking independently is a component of critical thinking but narrower, lacking reflection or inference. Assessment is a nursing process step, involving data collection, not the broader cognitive process described. Critical thinking's comprehensive nature encompassing analysis, synthesis, and evaluation makes it essential for sound clinical judgment, enabling nurses to adapt to complex, dynamic patient needs, and ensuring decisions are reasoned and evidence-based, aligning perfectly with the question's description.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: Florence Nightingale viewed nursing as managing health by optimizing conditions e.g., hygiene, nutrition for recovery or prevention, as per her Environmental Theory. This quote reflects her Crimean War work, reducing mortality via sanitation. Henderson focused on 14 needs aiding independence, not directly 'charging health.' Roy's Adaptation Model emphasizes adapting to stimuli, not Nightingale's environmental focus. Orem's Self-Care Theory prioritizes client self-management, not nurse-led health control. Nightingale's legacy knowledge-driven environmental adjustments matches the description, cementing her as modern nursing's founder with this vision.