Emergency Nursing- Critical Care Practice Questions and Answers

During the primary assessment of a victim of a motor vehicle collision, the nurse determines that the patient is breathing and has an unobstructed airway. Which action should the nurse take next? A. Palpate extremities for bilateral pulses. B. Observe the patient's respiratory effort. C. Check the patient's level of consciousness. D. Examine the patient for any external bleeding B. Observe the patient's respiratory effort. Even with a patent airway, patients can have other problems that compromise ventilation, so the next action is to assess the patients breathing. The other actions are also part of the initial survey but assessment of breathing should be done immediately after assessing for airway patency. During the primary survey of a patient with severe leg trauma, the nurse observes that the patients left pedal pulse is absent and the leg is swollen. Which action will the nurse take next? A. Send blood to the lab for a complete blood count. B. Assess further for a cause of the decreased circulation. C. Finish the airway, breathing, circulation, disability survey. D. Start normal saline fluid infusion with a large-bore IV line. D. Start normal saline fluid infusion with a large-bore IV line The assessment data indicate that the patient may have arterial trauma and hemorrhage. When a possibly life-threatening injury is found during the primary survey, the nurse should immediately start interventions before proceeding with the survey. Although a complete blood count is indicated, administration of IV fluids should be started first. Completion of the primary survey and further assessment should be completed after the IV fluids are initiated. A patient who is unconscious after a fall from a ladder is transported to the emergency department by emergency medical personnel. During the primary survey of the patient, the nurse should A. Obtain a complete set of vital signs B. Obtain a Glasglow Coma Scale score C. Ask about chronic medical conditions