The nurse observes an older adult client walking aimlessly in the hallway and staring straight ahead with a blank expression. How should the nurse enter documentation of this finding in the client's electronic medical record (EMR)?
Appears confused and depressed.
Demonstrates signs of early dementia.
Ambulatory and disoriented to place.
Wandering behavior with flat affect.
The Correct Answer is D
Choice A Reason:
Appears confused and depressed is incorrect. This option includes subjective interpretations ("confused" and "depressed") that may not accurately reflect the observed behavior. It's important to avoid subjective assessments and stick to objective descriptions of the client's behavior and mental status.
Choice B Reason:
Demonstrates signs of early dementia is incorrect. This option jumps to a diagnostic label ("early dementia") based on the observed behavior, which is not appropriate without further assessment and evaluation by a healthcare provider specializing in geriatric care or neurology. It's crucial to avoid diagnosing conditions based solely on observations without proper evaluation.
Choice C Reason:
While the client is ambulatory, the term "disoriented to place" is an assumption that has not been explicitly confirmed through an assessment. The documentation should be based on observable facts rather than assumptions.
Choice D Reason:
This statement is accurate, objective, and based on observable behaviors. "Wandering behavior" describes the client's aimless walking, and "flat affect" refers to the blank expression. This documentation does not make assumptions about the client's mental state beyond what is directly observable.
Nursing Test Bank
Naxlex Comprehensive Predictor Exams
Related Questions
Correct Answer is ["A","B","C","E"]
Explanation
Choice A Reason:
This option can help minimize clothing-related artifacts that may interfere with auscultation. Ensuring that the stethoscope is in direct contact with the skin allows for better transmission of sounds
Choice B Reason:
Ensuring the room is as quiet as possible is appropriate. Background noise can interfere with the clarity of auscultatory sounds. Ensuring a quiet environment helps reduce external interference and improves the nurse's ability to accurately hear and interpret the sounds.
Choice C Reason:
Keeping the examination room warm, and warm the stethoscope is appropriate. Cold temperatures can cause vasoconstriction and muscle tension, leading to increased tension in the skin and subcutaneous tissues, which may affect the quality of auscultatory sounds. Keeping the examination room warm and warming the stethoscope helps minimize this effect, ensuring clearer auscultation.
Choice D Reason:
Document the roaring and crackles is inappropriate. Documenting auscultatory findings such as roaring and crackles is important for clinical assessment and documentation but does not mitigate artifacts during auscultation. It is crucial to focus on optimizing the auscultation environment and technique to ensure accurate interpretation of sounds.
Choice E Reason:
Wetting the chest hair before auscultating is appropriate. Chest hair can create friction and produce artifacts during auscultation, particularly when using a stethoscope. Wetting the chest hair helps reduce friction and minimize artifacts, allowing for clearer auscultatory sounds.
Correct Answer is D
Explanation
Choice A Reason:
Having the client lay flat while listening to the anterior surface of the chest is incorrect because having the client lay flat may not be the most optimal position for auscultating lung sounds. While auscultation of the anterior surface of the chest is important, particularly for assessing the upper lobes of the lungs, having the client lay flat may not provide the best positioning for detecting all lung sounds, especially those located in the posterior lung fields.
Choice B Reason:
Using the bell of the stethoscope to listen to the lung fields over lower lobes is incorrect because using the bell of the stethoscope is more suitable for detecting low-frequency sounds such as heart murmurs or bruits. Adventitious lung sounds, such as crackles (rales) or wheezes, are typically high-pitched sounds that are best heard using the diaphragm of the stethoscope. Therefore, using the bell may not be the most effective technique for assessing adventitious lung sounds.
Choice C Reason:
Shaving all chest hair that may distort sounds heard through the diaphragm is incorrect because while removing chest hair may improve sound transmission for certain auscultatory findings, such as heart sounds, it is not specifically indicated for assessing adventitious lung sounds. Chest hair removal is not necessary for auscultation of lung sounds with the diaphragm of the stethoscope, as the sound transmission through chest hair is minimal and unlikely to significantly distort lung sounds.
Choice D Reason:
Pressing the stethoscope's diaphragm firmly on the skin over each lung field is correct because using the diaphragm of the stethoscope and pressing it firmly on the skin over each lung field ensures good contact with the chest wall, allowing for optimal transmission of lung sounds. Adventitious lung sounds, such as crackles or wheezes, are best heard using the diaphragm, particularly when it is applied firmly to the chest wall to minimize external noise and enhance sound transmission. Therefore, this technique is the most appropriate for assessing adventitious lung sounds during auscultation.
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