A nurse is caring for a client who is scheduled to undergo abdominal surgery and tells the nurse that he is very anxious about the operation. Which of the following actions should the nurse take?

A. Are communications links with personnel outside the room. Both the scrub person and the circulating nurse serve as communication links with the personnel outside the operating room. The scrub person may communicate regarding sterile equipment needs, while the circulating nurse communicates about patient status and surgical progress.

B. Set up initial sterile instruments and supplies. This is the responsibility of the scrub person, not the circulating nurse. The scrub person ensures that sterile instruments are ready and that the sterile field is set up properly.

C. Advise the team of breaks in sterile technique. Only the scrub person is typically responsible for maintaining sterile technique and calling attention to any breaches in sterility. The circulating nurse may assist with ensuring the environment is safe, but the scrub person is directly in charge of sterile technique.

D. Position lights on step stools. Positioning the lights is the responsibility of the circulating nurse. The scrub person’s role is more focused on the sterile field and assisting with surgical instruments.

A. To relieve pain or complications without curing. This describes palliative care, not perioperative care.

B. Voluntary. This does not define perioperative care; it relates to patient decision-making (e.g., elective surgery).

C. Own, originating within an individual. This describes something intrinsic (e.g., idiopathic conditions), not perioperative care.

D. Care from decision to have surgery through the recovery period. (Correct Answer) Perioperative care includes preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative care, ensuring patient safety and optimal surgical outcomes.