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Question

Difficulty: MediumHandling Hazardous and Infectious Materials

A nurse is planning care for a client who is receiving internal radiation therapy via a sealed vaginal implant (brachytherapy) for cervical cancer. Which of the following safety measures should the nurse implement? Select all that apply.

  1. Keep a lead-lined container and long-handled forceps inside the client's room.Answer
  2. Ensure the client is placed in a private room with a private bathroom.Answer
  3. Instruct visitors to remain at least 6 feet away from the client and limit visits to 30 minutes per day.Answer
  4. D
    Store all soiled bed linens and dressings in the client's room until the radiation source is removed.
  5. E
    Assign the unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) to provide a complete bed bath and linen change to the client each shift.
  6. F
    Require all staff entering the room to wear a specialized N95 respirator mask.

Answer

The correct safety measures include keeping a lead-lined container and forceps in the room, placing the client in a private room with a private bath, and limiting visitors to 30 minutes at a distance of at least 6 feet.
Safe management of a client with a sealed radiation implant relies on the principles of time, distance, and shielding. Placing the client in a private room with a private bath protects other clients. Limiting visitor time to 30 minutes and maintaining a 6-foot distance minimizes exposure to guests. Keeping long-handled forceps and a lead-lined container in the room is critical for safely managing accidental dislodgment of the radioactive source without direct physical contact.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the type of hazardous material in the clinical scenario.
The client has a sealed internal radiation implant (brachytherapy).
Different types of radiation therapy (sealed vs. unsealed) require distinct safety protocols based on whether body fluids become radioactive.
2
Apply the core principles of radiation safety: time, distance, and shielding.
Nursing interventions must minimize time spent near the radiation source, maximize distance, and use appropriate shielding to protect staff and visitors.
These three principles are the gold standard for minimizing occupational and bystander radiation exposure.
3
Evaluate each nursing intervention option against sealed source protocols.
Private rooms, strict visitor restrictions, and emergency retrieval equipment (forceps/lead container) are required. Special handling of linens and airborne PPE are not required.
Sealed sources do not make the client's excretions or linens radioactive, and radiation does not aerosolize like a respiratory pathogen.

Key Concept

Radiation Safety Principles (Time, Distance, Shielding) for Sealed Brachytherapy
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Topics

Handling Hazardous and Infectious Materials

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