A patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is experiencing shortness of breath while breathing room air.

The patient’s pulse oximetry reading is 89% and their respiratory rate is 22. What should be the nurse’s priority action?

Choice A rationale
Deontology is an ethical theory that emphasizes duties or rules. It doesn’t focus on using case studies from one demographic to instruct a different demographic on ethical decision-making.
Choice B rationale
Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that determines right from wrong by focusing on outcomes. It suggests that the most ethical choice is the one that will produce the greatest good for the greatest number. It doesn’t involve using case studies from one demographic to instruct another.
Choice C rationale
Feminist ethics is an approach to ethics that builds on the belief that traditionally ethical theorizing has undervalued and/or underappreciated women’s moral experience. It doesn’t directly relate to the use of case studies from one demographic to instruct another.
Choice D rationale
Casuistry, in ethics, a case-based method of reasoning. It is particularly employed in field- specific branches of professional ethics such as business ethics and bioethics. Casuistry typically uses general principles in reasoning analogically from clear-cut cases, called paradigms, to vexing cases. This aligns with the scenario of a nursing educator utilizing case studies from one demographic to instruct a different demographic on ethical decision-making.

Choice A rationale
The client reports mild pain in the upper left arm at 2/10 on a scale of 0 to 10. This indicates that the interventions were effective in managing the pain associated with the infection and cellulitis.
Choice B rationale
The client’s early morning finger stick blood glucose (FSBG) was 97 mg/dL (5.4 mmol/L). This is within the normal range, indicating that the interventions were effective in maintaining the client’s blood glucose levels within the normal range.
Choice C rationale
The client’s left upper arm is slightly reddened when compared with the right upper arm. This could be a sign of inflammation or infection, suggesting that the interventions were ineffective in completely resolving the infection and cellulitis.
Choice D rationale
The client reports that her back is more achy since she came to the hospital. This could be due to a variety of factors, including the hospital bed or a lack of physical activity. It is unrelated to the expected outcomes of the interventions for the infection and cellulitis.