The nurse is caring for a patient in the sleep lab. Which assessment finding indicates to the nurse that the patient is in stage 4 NREM?

Choice A reason: Stage 4 NREM (deep sleep) is characterized by slow delta brain waves, making the patient difficult to awaken. This stage promotes physical restoration, with minimal responsiveness to stimuli. The assessment finding aligns with the physiological state of deep sleep, making it the correct indicator for stage 4 NREM.

Choice B reason: Elevated vital signs are not typical of stage 4 NREM, where metabolic rate and heart rate decrease due to deep relaxation. Elevated vital signs may occur in REM or lighter sleep stages, making this finding inconsistent with the characteristics of deep NREM sleep.

Choice C reason: Easily awakening occurs in lighter NREM stages (1 or 2), not stage 4, which is the deepest sleep phase. Patients in stage 4 require significant stimuli to rouse, so this finding contradicts the expected state of deep sleep, making it incorrect.

Choice D reason: Rapid eye movement is specific to REM sleep, not NREM. Stage 4 NREM involves slow brain waves and no eye movement, focusing on physical restoration. This finding is characteristic of a different sleep phase, making it an incorrect indicator for stage 4 NREM.

Choice A reason: Intersectionality examines how overlapping identities (e.g., race, gender, socioeconomic status) shape unique experiences of health and care. Focusing on experiences allows nurses to address disparities and tailor interventions, ensuring equitable care. This approach recognizes systemic factors, critical for understanding patients’ barriers and needs in diverse healthcare contexts.

Choice B reason: Focusing on illness alone overlooks intersectionality’s emphasis on how social identities shape health experiences. Illness is a clinical factor, not a social construct like race or class. This narrow focus risks missing systemic inequities, reducing care effectiveness for patients with complex social determinants influencing their health outcomes.

Choice C reason: Values are personal beliefs, not the primary focus of intersectionality, which examines social identities and systemic inequities shaping experiences. Prioritizing values risks ignoring structural factors like discrimination, limiting the nurse’s ability to address disparities and provide culturally sensitive care critical for patients from marginalized backgrounds.

Choice D reason: Health is an outcome, not the focus of intersectionality, which explores how identities like ethnicity or gender create unique experiences of care access and treatment. Focusing on health alone misses social determinants, risking generic care that fails to address inequities, critical for equitable nursing practice in diverse populations.