A nurse is caring for a client who has angina and reports a feeling of heaviness in the chest while ambulating in the hall. Which of the following actions should the nurse take first?

Rationale:

A. Instruct the client to shower and change their clothes: The client should avoid bathing, showering, changing clothes, eating, or drinking before a forensic examination. These actions can destroy vital evidence needed for legal and medical purposes.

B. Ask the client for details about the assault: While the nurse should provide emotional support and allow the client to speak if they choose, probing for details can be retraumatizing. A trained forensic examiner should conduct this interview in a sensitive and structured manner.

C. Reassure the client that their injuries are not life threatening: While reassurance is important, making assumptions about the severity of injuries can invalidate the client’s emotional trauma. The nurse should focus on safety, stabilization, and support.

D. Limit the number of staff members providing care for the client: Reducing the number of caregivers helps minimize overstimulation, preserves privacy, and creates a sense of control and safety for the client. This trauma-informed approach is essential in early post-assault care.

Rationale:

A. The person holding financial power of attorney will make health care decisions based on the client's advance directives: A financial power of attorney manages financial matters, not health care decisions. A separate designation such as a health care proxy or medical power of attorney is needed for making medical decisions.

B. The client has the right to refuse medical treatment, even if health care providers recommend it: Under the Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA), clients have the legal right to make autonomous decisions about their care, including the right to refuse or discontinue treatment, regardless of medical advice.

C. The client's eldest adult child has the right to change advance directives in an end-of-life situation: Advance directives reflect the client’s own decisions. No family member, regardless of birth order, has the legal authority to change them unless specifically authorized as a health care proxy and even then, only if the client is incapacitated.

D. If the client's advance directives are in writing and notarized, the client cannot change it in the future: Clients can revise or revoke advance directives at any time, as long as they remain mentally competent. Notarization does not make the document legally fixed or unchangeable.