A nurse is caring for a client who is recovering from a stroke. The provider recommends an extracranial-intracranial bypass, but the client tells the nurse that he will not have the surgery. Which of the following actions should the nurse take?

The correct answer is choice B: A client who has a femur fracture and reports feeling short of breath.

Choice A rationale:

A client who has facial drooping following a stroke 8 hours ago (Choice A) is a concern as it may indicate neurological damage; however, a client with a femur fracture experiencing shortness of breath takes priority due to the potential risk of a pulmonary embolism, a life-threatening complication.

Choice B rationale:

A client who has a femur fracture and reports feeling short of breath (Choice B) is the priority assessment finding. Shortness of breath in this context raises concern for a possible pulmonary embolism, which is a critical condition that requires immediate intervention.

Choice C rationale:

A client who had an appendectomy 12 hours ago and reports pain as 5 on a scale of 0 to 10 (Choice C) is a valid concern, but it is of lower priority compared to a client with a femur fracture and respiratory distress.

Choice D rationale:

A client who had an open cholecystectomy 4 days ago and has serosanguineous drainage on the wound dressing (Choice D) is a normal postoperative finding and does not require immediate attention. While wound assessment is important, it is not the priority in this scenario.

The correct answers are Choices A and C.

Choice A rationale: Modeling positivity leverages social learning and transformational leadership, sets constructive norms, reduces uncertainty, and promotes psychological safety, facilitating Lewin’s change movement and sustained adoption of bariatric workflows and equipment safely.

Choice B rationale: Redirecting negativity suppresses concerns, undermines just culture, and blocks feedback necessary for Lewin’s unfreezing, reducing trust, psychological safety, and data to address barriers, thereby entrenching covert resistance to change process.

Choice C rationale: Engaging supportive peers utilizes diffusion of innovations and social proof; peer dialogue surfaces practical barriers, shares tacit knowledge, normalizes change behaviors, and increases motivation and adherence to bariatric care practices.

Choice D rationale: Suggesting transfers is coercive and punitive, contradicting transformational leadership and just culture, damages morale and retention, bypasses root-cause analysis, and fails to address legitimate change barriers or build sustainable engagement.

Choice E rationale: Reprimanding resistance pathologizes normal adaptation, undermines psychological safety and voice, increases turnover intentions, entrenches oppositional behavior, and conflicts with evidence-based change management; reserve discipline for misconduct, not expressed skepticism alone.