The nurse is caring for a patient with skin traction. What is an important nursing intervention to prevent complications?

Asking the physical therapist for input on the patient's progress demonstrates effective nursing collaboration. The physical therapist's expertise is valuable in assessing the patient's response to range of motion exercises in traction.

a. Taking over the physical therapist's role in performing the exercises is not appropriate, as each healthcare professional has a specific scope of practice and should work collaboratively.

b. Informing the physical therapist that the exercises are unnecessary disregards the physical therapist's expertise and is not conducive to effective collaboration.

d. Disregarding the physical therapist's recommendations undermines the collaborative effort and diminishes the potential benefits of working together.

Skin traction and skeletal traction are both used to stabilize and immobilize fractured bones, but they differ in the method of application. Skin traction uses weights attached to adhesive straps on the skin near the fractured area, while skeletal traction involves weights connected to metal pins inserted directly into the bone.

a. Skin traction is less invasive than skeletal traction because it does not require surgical insertion of metal pins.

c. Skin traction is not only used for chronic orthopedic conditions; it is commonly used for acute fractures as well.

d. Skin traction is not used to replace surgical interventions; it is an adjunctive intervention used in conjunction with other treatments for fractures.