A registered nurse is finalizing the transition plan for a 19-year-old client with a recently acquired C7 complete spinal cord injury who is preparing to transfer to an inpatient rehabilitation facility. The client requires intermittent catheterization, struggles to grasp feeding utensils, and expresses intense feelings of hopelessness regarding the future. While coordinating comprehensive care, which of the following actions by the nurse are appropriate? Select all that apply.
- Request an occupational therapy consultation to assess the client's fine motor skills and recommend adaptive utensils for self-feeding.Answer
- BDelegate the evaluation of the client's return demonstration of clean intermittent catheterization to the unlicensed assistive personnel.
- Initiate a referral to a psychiatric clinical nurse specialist or psychologist to evaluate the client's coping mechanisms.Answer
- DAssure the client that their feelings of hopelessness will disappear once they begin working with the rehabilitation team.
- EPrioritize completing the multidisciplinary discharge paperwork over responding immediately to the client's sudden, pounding headache.
- Use the SBAR communication framework to report the client's functional baseline and mobility goals to the receiving physical therapy team.Answer
Answer
The appropriate collaborative actions include requesting an occupational therapy consultation for self-feeding, initiating a psychiatric referral for emotional coping, and utilizing the SBAR framework to communicate mobility baselines to the physical therapy team.
The correct interdisciplinary actions involve accurately identifying the scopes of practice for allied health team members and ensuring safe transitions of care. Occupational therapists specialize in fine motor skills and ADLs, such as adapting utensils for a client with a cervical spinal cord injury. Psychiatric specialists are equipped to evaluate and support clients experiencing severe situational depression or hopelessness. Using standardized tools like SBAR to hand off care to disciplines such as physical therapy ensures clear, safe, and effective interprofessional communication.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Interdisciplinary collaboration requires the nurse to accurately assign roles based on scopes of practice (e.g., OT for fine motor ADLs, PT for gross mobility), utilize structured handoff communication like SBAR, and maintain foundational nursing responsibilities regarding delegation and prioritization.