A nurse is caring for a patient who is receiving oxygen therapy via nasal cannula. The nurse notices that the patient's nares are dry and irritated. What should the nurse do first?

Choice A rationale:

Monitoring the patient's respiratory rate, depth, rhythm, and effort is crucial for assessing the effectiveness of oxygen therapy and ensuring proper oxygenation through the tracheostomy collar.

Choice B rationale:

Educating the patient on how to use and care for the tracheostomy collar is essential to ensure the patient's safety and compliance with the therapy.

Choice C rationale:

Implementing safety measures to prevent fire hazards from the oxygen source is crucial, especially when oxygen is delivered via tracheostomy collar, which may have increased oxygen flow rates.

Choice D rationale:

This is the correct choice. All the provided interventions (monitoring respiratory parameters, patient education, and safety measures) are essential components of the plan of care for a patient with a tracheostomy who requires oxygen therapy.

The correct answer is choice B: Diagnosis.

Choice A rationale:

Assessment is the first phase of the nursing process where the nurse collects comprehensive data pertinent to the patient’s health or the situation. In the scenario, the nurse has already gathered data about the client’s respiratory status, indicating that the assessment phase has been completed.

Choice B rationale:

Diagnosis is the phase where the nurse analyzes the assessment data to determine the issues, which in this case is ‘impaired gas exchange.’ This is the phase where the nurse identifies that the client’s symptoms (dyspnea and cyanosis) and elevated respiratory rate are indicative of impaired gas exchange.

Choice C rationale:

Planning is the phase where the nurse develops a plan that prescribes strategies and alternatives to attain expected outcomes. It follows the diagnosis and involves setting priorities, but in the given scenario, the nurse is still at the stage of identifying the problem rather than planning interventions.

Choice D rationale:

Evaluation is the final phase of the nursing process where the nurse assesses the client’s response to the nursing actions and plan’s effectiveness towards achieving the health care goals. Since the nurse is determining the issue, not evaluating the client’s response to interventions, this phase is not the correct answer.