While conducting afternoon rounds on a medical unit, a nurse observes a 68-year-old client who was previously fully oriented now suddenly attempting to climb over the bed rails and forcefully tugging at an indwelling urinary catheter. An assistive personnel in the room offers to quickly apply soft wrist restraints to prevent immediate self-injury. What is the most appropriate priority action for the nurse to take?
- APermit the application of wrist restraints and immediately contact the healthcare provider for a prescription.
- Conduct a rapid physical assessment including vital signs to identify a physiological cause for the sudden agitation.Cevap
- CAttribute the behavior to expected age-related cognitive changes and reorient the client to the room.
- DDelegate the removal of the urinary catheter to the assistive personnel to eliminate the source of irritation.
Cevap
Conduct a rapid physical assessment including vital signs to identify a physiological cause for the sudden agitation.
The correct action prioritizes the nursing process by emphasizing assessment before intervention. Sudden onset of confusion and agitation in an older adult is a hallmark sign of delirium, often caused by a physiological issue such as hypoxia, a urinary tract infection, or medication effects. The nurse must first gather data to identify and treat the underlying cause using the least restrictive approach. Implementing restraints without an assessment increases the risk of client injury and fails to resolve the root cause.
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Anahtar Kavram
Prioritizing the nursing process (assessment first), utilizing least restrictive interventions, and recognizing signs of delirium to prevent client injury.