A patient has been hospitalized after her house was destroyed in a hurricane.
She has spent two weeks in the intensive care unit and has now been transferred to the surgical floor for continued respiratory monitoring and completion of IV antibiotic therapy.
The patient reports a pain level of 2 on a scale of 0 to 10. She requests sleeping medication, explaining that she is haunted by distressing thoughts and memories of the house collapsing, which prevent her from sleeping.
She says, “I used to be so happy before all of this happened.
Now I can’t seem to get out of this funk I am in.”. She would also prefer a quieter area of the unit as she is currently near the nurses’ station and is disturbed by the noise.
After listening to the patient’s symptoms, the nurse suspects that she likely has:

Choice A rationale

Printing the electronic medical record (EMR) from the backup server may not be the most immediate action required. While having a backup of the EMR is important, it does not address the immediate issue of the system failure.

Choice B rationale

Waiting for notification that the system has been rebooted is a passive approach and may not be the most effective initial action. It does not address the immediate need to communicate the issue to the appropriate department.

Choice C rationale

Identifying information as a late entry in the record is a documentation practice that is used when charting is not completed in a timely manner. However, this action does not address the immediate issue of the system failure.

Choice D rationale

Notifying the information services department of the situation is the correct action. This allows the appropriate department to begin troubleshooting and resolving the issue. In the event of a system failure, the first step should be to report the issue so that it can be addressed as quickly as possible.

Choice A rationale

Prompting the nurse to apply povidone to the site is not the correct action in this scenario. Povidone-iodine is an antiseptic used for skin disinfection before and after surgery. It is not typically used in the process of irrigating an intravenous catheter.

Choice B rationale

Directing the nurse to attach the luer-lock tip to the irrigation port is the correct action. A luer-lock syringe is commonly used in medical procedures, including the irrigation of an intravenous catheter. The luer-lock tip provides a secure connection to prevent leaks and ensure that the irrigation solution is delivered directly to the catheter.

Choice C rationale

Sending an unlicensed assistive personnel to gather equipment is not the most appropriate action in this scenario. The new nurse has already gathered the necessary equipment for the procedure.

Choice D rationale

Instructing the nurse to use water with 5% dextrose (D5W) is not the correct action. D5W is a type of intravenous fluid used to correct dehydration and provide calories to the patient. It is not typically used for irrigating an intravenous catheter.