The practical nurse (PN) and unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) enter a client's room and find the client lying on the bed. The PN determines that the client is unresponsive. Which instruction should the PN give the UAP first?

The correct answer is choiceB. Verify completion of all new prescriptions. This task is crucial to ensure patient safety and proper medication administration.

Choice A rationale:

Clean up and organize the nurses’ workstation: While maintaining an organized workstation is important for efficiency and reducing stress, it is not the highest priority task. Patient safety and care tasks take precedence over organizational tasks.

Choice B rationale:

Verify completion of all new prescriptions: This is the highest priority because verifying new prescriptions ensures that patients receive the correct medications as prescribed by their healthcare providers.This step is critical to prevent medication errors, which can have serious or even fatal consequences. Ensuring the accuracy of medication orders directly impacts patient safety and care quality.

Choice C rationale:

Calculate and record intake and output totals: Monitoring and recording intake and output is important for assessing a patient’s fluid balance and overall health status. However, this task can be delegated to another team member and does not take precedence over verifying medication orders, which is more time-sensitive and directly related to patient safety.

Choice D rationale:

Write a narrative shift summary for each client: Documenting a shift summary is essential for continuity of care and communication between healthcare providers. However, this task can be completed after ensuring that all critical patient care tasks, such as verifying new prescriptions, are addressed first.

This is the best initial intervention for the PN to implement because it promotes comfort, relaxation, and circulation for the client. A back rub can also reduce anxiety and muscle tension, which can interfere with sleep. The PN should use non-pharmacological methods to facilitate sleep before resorting to medication.

A. Offering the client a prescribed sleep medication is not the best initial intervention because it may have side effects or interactions with other drugs. The PN should assess the client's need for medication and use it as a last resort.

C. Administering an as-needed (PRN) prescription for pain is not the best initial intervention because it may not address the cause of the client's difficulty in sleeping. The PN should assess the client's pain level and use other methods to relieve pain before giving medication.

D. Providing a cup of hot chocolate at bedtime is not the best initial intervention because it may contain caffeine, which can stimulate the central nervous system and keep the client awake. The PN should avoid giving caffeinated beverages to the client before bedtime.