The nurse is caring for a patient who has a right-sided chest tube after a right lower lobectomy. Which nursing action could the nurse delegate to the assistive personnel (AP)?
Assess patient pain level associated with the chest tube.
Check the water-seal chamber for the correct fluid level.
Document the amount of drainage every 8 hours.
Obtain samples of drainage for culture from the system.
The Correct Answer is C
Choice A reason: Assessing pain requires subjective interpretation and clinical judgment to gauge severity and response. This nursing task can’t be delegated, as assistants lack training to evaluate pain’s impact on respiratory status or intervention needs.
Choice B reason: Checking the water-seal chamber involves understanding pneumothorax mechanics and system integrity. This technical skill exceeds an assistant’s scope, requiring a nurse to ensure proper function and detect complications like air leaks.
Choice C reason: Documenting drainage volume is a routine task after RN measurement, involving recording observed data. It fits an assistant’s role, as it requires no analysis or intervention, making it a safe delegation for tracking output.
Choice D reason: Obtaining drainage samples involves sterile technique and system manipulation, risking infection or disruption. This skilled procedure remains a nursing duty, as assistants aren’t trained to handle invasive equipment safely.
Nursing Test Bank
Naxlex Comprehensive Predictor Exams
Related Questions
Correct Answer is A
Explanation
Choice A reason: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) fits symptoms like cough or fever from pathogens outside hospitals. It’s the most likely without hospital exposure history, aligning with typical outpatient respiratory infection patterns.
Choice B reason: Cor pulmonale involves right heart failure from lung disease, not primary infection. Maria’s acute symptoms suggest pneumonia, not chronic pulmonary hypertension, making this less probable without supporting cardiac findings.
Choice C reason: Hospital-acquired pneumonia requires recent hospitalization, not indicated here. Maria’s presentation lacks nosocomial context, favoring community-acquired pneumonia as the diagnosis based on typical outpatient symptom onset.
Correct Answer is C
Explanation
Choice A reason: Shortness of breath on stairs suggests cardiopulmonary issues, not intermittent claudication. Claudication is leg pain from arterial insufficiency during activity, not dyspnea, which reflects lung or heart strain.
Choice B reason: Finger pain in cold weather points to Raynaud’s or vasospasm, not claudication. Intermittent claudication affects lower limbs from arterial occlusion, not upper extremities or temperature-related vasomotor changes.
Choice C reason: Leg cramping after walking a block is classic intermittent claudication, from reduced blood flow in peripheral artery disease. Pain with activity, relieved by rest, matches its ischemic pathophysiology perfectly.
Choice D reason: Foot swelling from standing suggests venous stasis or edema, not claudication. Claudication involves arterial insufficiency causing pain with exertion, not fluid accumulation from prolonged static posture.
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