PREMIUM STUDY GUIDE
COMPREHENSIVE NURS 6050 AGENDA
COMPARISON GRID & FACT QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS GRADED A+
◉ The nurse identifies a potential for infection in a client with
partial-thickness (second-degree) and full-thickness (third-degree)
burns. What intervention has the highest priority in decreasing the
client's risk of infection?
A. Administration of plasma expanders
B. Use of careful handwashing technique
C. Application of a topical antibacterial cream
D. Limiting visitors to the client with burns
Rationale:
Careful handwashing technique is the single most effective
intervention for the prevention of contamination to all clients.
Option A reverses the hypovolemia that initially accompanies burn
trauma but is not related to decreasing the proliferation of infective
organisms. Options C and D are recommended by various burn
centres as possible ways to reduce the chance of infection. Option
B is a proven technique to prevent
infection.
,◉ The nurse is aware that malnutrition is a common problem among
clients served by a community health clinic for the homeless. Which
laboratory value is the most reliable indicator of chronic protein
malnutrition?
A. Low serum albumin level
B. Low serum transferrin level
C. High haemoglobin level
D. High cholesterol level
Rationale:
Long-term protein deficiency is required to cause significantly lowered
serum albumin levels. Albumin is made by the liver only when adequate
amounts of amino acids (from protein breakdown) are available. Albumin
has a long half-life, so acute protein loss does not significantly alter
serum levels. Option B is a serum protein with a half-life of only 8 to 10
days, so it will drop with an acute protein deficiency. Options C and D are
not clinical measures of protein malnutrition.
◉ In completing a client's preoperative routine, the nurse finds that
the operative permit is not signed. The client begins to ask more
questions about the surgical procedure. Which action should the
nurse take next?
A. Witness the client's signature to the permit.
B. Answer the client's questions about the surgery.
C. Inform the surgeon that the operative permit is not signed and the
client has questions about the surgery.
,PREMIUM STUDY GUIDE
D. Reassure the client that the surgeon will answer any questions
before the anaesthesia is administered.
Rationale:
The surgeon should be informed immediately that the permit is not
signed. It is the surgeon's responsibility to explain the procedure to the
client and obtain the client's signature on the permit. Although the nurse
can witness an operative permit, the procedure must first be explained
by the health care provider or surgeon, including answering the client's
questions. The client's questions should be addressed before the permit
is signed.
◉ The nurse is assessing several clients prior to surgery. Which
factor in a client's history poses the greatest threat for complications
to occur during surgery?
A. Taking birth control pills for the past 2 years
B. Taking anticoagulants for the past year
C. Recently completing antibiotic therapy
D. Having taken laxatives PRN for the last 6 months
Rationale:
Anticoagulants increase the risk for bleeding during surgery, which can
pose a threat for the development of surgical complications. The health
care provider should be informed that the client is taking these drugs.
Although clients who take birth control pills may be more susceptible to
the development of thrombi, such problems usually occur
, postoperatively. A client with option C or D is at less of a surgical risk than
with option B.
◉ When assisting a client from the bed to a chair, which procedure is
best for the nurse to follow?
A. Place the chair parallel to the bed, with its back toward the
head of the bed and assist the client in moving to the chair.
B. With the nurse's feet spread apart and knees aligned with the
client's knees, stand and pivot the client into the chair.
C. Assist the client to a standing position by gently lifting upward,
underneath the axillae.
D. Stand beside the client, place the client's arms around the
nurse's neck, and gently move the client to the chair.
Rationale:
Option B describes the correct positioning of the nurse and affords the
nurse a wide base of support while stabilizing the client's knees when
assisting to a standing position. The chair should be placed at a 45-
degree angle to the bed, with the back of the chair toward the head of the
bed. Clients should never be lifted under the axillae; this could damage
nerves and strain the nurse's back. The client should be instructed to use
the arms of the chair and should never place his or her arms around the
nurse's neck; this places undue stress on the nurse's neck and back and
increases the risk for a fall.
COMPREHENSIVE NURS 6050 AGENDA
COMPARISON GRID & FACT QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS GRADED A+
◉ The nurse identifies a potential for infection in a client with
partial-thickness (second-degree) and full-thickness (third-degree)
burns. What intervention has the highest priority in decreasing the
client's risk of infection?
A. Administration of plasma expanders
B. Use of careful handwashing technique
C. Application of a topical antibacterial cream
D. Limiting visitors to the client with burns
Rationale:
Careful handwashing technique is the single most effective
intervention for the prevention of contamination to all clients.
Option A reverses the hypovolemia that initially accompanies burn
trauma but is not related to decreasing the proliferation of infective
organisms. Options C and D are recommended by various burn
centres as possible ways to reduce the chance of infection. Option
B is a proven technique to prevent
infection.
,◉ The nurse is aware that malnutrition is a common problem among
clients served by a community health clinic for the homeless. Which
laboratory value is the most reliable indicator of chronic protein
malnutrition?
A. Low serum albumin level
B. Low serum transferrin level
C. High haemoglobin level
D. High cholesterol level
Rationale:
Long-term protein deficiency is required to cause significantly lowered
serum albumin levels. Albumin is made by the liver only when adequate
amounts of amino acids (from protein breakdown) are available. Albumin
has a long half-life, so acute protein loss does not significantly alter
serum levels. Option B is a serum protein with a half-life of only 8 to 10
days, so it will drop with an acute protein deficiency. Options C and D are
not clinical measures of protein malnutrition.
◉ In completing a client's preoperative routine, the nurse finds that
the operative permit is not signed. The client begins to ask more
questions about the surgical procedure. Which action should the
nurse take next?
A. Witness the client's signature to the permit.
B. Answer the client's questions about the surgery.
C. Inform the surgeon that the operative permit is not signed and the
client has questions about the surgery.
,PREMIUM STUDY GUIDE
D. Reassure the client that the surgeon will answer any questions
before the anaesthesia is administered.
Rationale:
The surgeon should be informed immediately that the permit is not
signed. It is the surgeon's responsibility to explain the procedure to the
client and obtain the client's signature on the permit. Although the nurse
can witness an operative permit, the procedure must first be explained
by the health care provider or surgeon, including answering the client's
questions. The client's questions should be addressed before the permit
is signed.
◉ The nurse is assessing several clients prior to surgery. Which
factor in a client's history poses the greatest threat for complications
to occur during surgery?
A. Taking birth control pills for the past 2 years
B. Taking anticoagulants for the past year
C. Recently completing antibiotic therapy
D. Having taken laxatives PRN for the last 6 months
Rationale:
Anticoagulants increase the risk for bleeding during surgery, which can
pose a threat for the development of surgical complications. The health
care provider should be informed that the client is taking these drugs.
Although clients who take birth control pills may be more susceptible to
the development of thrombi, such problems usually occur
, postoperatively. A client with option C or D is at less of a surgical risk than
with option B.
◉ When assisting a client from the bed to a chair, which procedure is
best for the nurse to follow?
A. Place the chair parallel to the bed, with its back toward the
head of the bed and assist the client in moving to the chair.
B. With the nurse's feet spread apart and knees aligned with the
client's knees, stand and pivot the client into the chair.
C. Assist the client to a standing position by gently lifting upward,
underneath the axillae.
D. Stand beside the client, place the client's arms around the
nurse's neck, and gently move the client to the chair.
Rationale:
Option B describes the correct positioning of the nurse and affords the
nurse a wide base of support while stabilizing the client's knees when
assisting to a standing position. The chair should be placed at a 45-
degree angle to the bed, with the back of the chair toward the head of the
bed. Clients should never be lifted under the axillae; this could damage
nerves and strain the nurse's back. The client should be instructed to use
the arms of the chair and should never place his or her arms around the
nurse's neck; this places undue stress on the nurse's neck and back and
increases the risk for a fall.
