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Question

Difficulty: MediumAccident, Error, and Injury Prevention

A healthcare team is managing the care of a client newly admitted with profound weakness and a high risk for falls. To maintain a safe environment and prevent injury, which specific action should the nurse assign to the unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP)?

  1. Assisting the client with applying non-skid footwear prior to getting out of bed.Answer
  2. B
    Evaluating the client's balance and lower extremity strength during their initial ambulation.
  3. C
    Providing initial instructions to the client on how to properly operate the call bell system.
  4. D
    Raising all four side rails on the client's bed to prevent the client from attempting to get up unassisted.

Answer

Assisting the client with applying non-skid footwear prior to getting out of bed.
Applying non-skid footwear is a routine, non-invasive safety measure that has a predictable outcome and requires no clinical assessment or teaching. Therefore, it falls safely within the scope of practice for unlicensed assistive personnel to help prevent falls.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the client's status and safety needs.
The client is newly admitted with weakness and a high fall risk, requiring immediate safety interventions.
Establishing the clinical context is the first step in appropriate care planning and task delegation.
2
Evaluate the proposed tasks against the RN scope of practice versus the UAP scope of practice.
Assessment (evaluating balance), initial teaching (call bell instructions), and applying physical restraints (four side rails) all require RN judgment or a provider prescription.
The Nurse Practice Act strictly prohibits delegating assessment, teaching, or clinical judgment to unlicensed personnel.
3
Select the appropriate delegable task that promotes safety.
Applying non-skid footwear is the only appropriate task.
This is a standard, routine procedure with a predictable outcome that directly promotes injury prevention without requiring nursing assessment.

Key Concept

Safe Delegation and Injury Prevention
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Accident, Error, and Injury Prevention

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