The practical nurse (PN) is preparing for shift change. Which task has the highest priority and should be completed first?
Clean up and organize the nurses' workstation.
Verify completion of all new prescriptions.
Calculate and record intake and output totals.
Write a narrative shift summary for each client.
The Correct Answer is B
The correct answer is choice B. 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.
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Naxlex Comprehensive Predictor Exams
Related Questions
Correct Answer is D
Explanation
This is the factor that the PN should consider the most likely to increase the client's risk for falls because it can cause orthostatic hypotension, dizziness, or fainting, especially when the client changes position or gets up from bed or a chair. The PN should monitor the client's blood pressure and pulse before and after administering the medication and assist the client with ambulation and transfers.
Correct Answer is A
Explanation
Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that damage the optic nerve and cause vision loss. It is often associated with increased intraocular pressure, which can compress the nerve fibers and reduce blood flow to the retina. The most common type of glaucoma, open-angle glaucoma, causes gradual loss of peripheral vision.
The other options are not correct because:
A. Macular edema is a condition that causes swelling and fluid accumulation in the macula, the central part of the retina that is responsible for sharp and detailed vision. It can cause blurred or distorted vision, but it does not affect the optic nerve or the peripheral vision.
B. Cataract is a condition that causes clouding of the lens, which is the transparent structure that focuses light onto the retina. It can cause blurred, dim, or yellowed vision, but it does not affect the optic nerve or the intraocular pressure.
C. Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of diabetes that damages the blood vessels in the retina and causes bleeding, leakage, or scarring. It can cause blurred, fluctuating, or darkened vision, but it does not affect the optic nerve or the intraocular pressure.
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