Assessing Pain in a Female Client with Metastatic Breast Cancer

A female client who has breast cancer with metastasis to the liver and spine is admitted with constant, severe pain despite around-the-clock use of oxycodone (Percodan) and amitriptyline (Elavil) for pain control at home. During the admission assessment, which information is most important for the nurse to obtain? A. Sensory pattern, area, intensity, and nature of the pain. B. Trigger points identified by palpation and manual pressure of painful areas. C. Schedule and total dosages of drugs currently used for breakthrough pain. D. Sympathetic responses consistent with onset of acute pain.

A client is demonstrating a positive Chvostek's sign. What action should the nurse take? A. Observe the client's pupil size and response to light. B. Ask the client about numbness or tingling in the hands. C. Assess the client's serum potassium level. D. Restrict dietary intake of calcium-rich foods.

Which statement is an example of a correctly written nursing diagnosis statement? A. Altered tissue perfusion related to congestive heart failure. B. Altered urinary elimination related to urinary tract infection. C. Risk for impaired tissue integrity related to client's refusal to turn. D. Ineffective coping related to response to positive biopsy test results.

What activity should the nurse use in the evaluation phase of the nursing process? A. Ask a client to evaluate the nursing care provided. B. Document the nursing care plan in the progress notes. C. Determine whether a client's health problems have been alleviated. D. Examine the effectiveness of nursing interventions toward meeting client outcomes.

Before administering a client's medication, the nurse assesses a change in the client's condition and decides to withhold the medication until consulting with the healthcare provider. After consultation with the healthcare provider, the dose of the medication is changed and the nurse administers the newly prescribed dose an hour later than the originally scheduled time. What action should the nurse implement in response to this situation? A. Notify the charge nurse that a medication error occurred. B. Submit a medication variance report to the supervisor. C. Document the events that occurred in the nurses' notes. D. Discard the original medication administration record.

A female nurse who sometimes tries to save time by putting medications in her uniform pocket to deliver to clients, confides that after arriving home she found a hydrocodone (Vicoden) tablet in her pocket. Which possible outcome of this situation should be the nurse's greatest concern? A. Accused of diversion. B. Reported for stealing. C. Reported for a HIPAA violation. D. Accused of unprofessional conduct.

A client has a nursing diagnosis of, "Spiritual distress related to a loss of hope, secondary to impending death." What intervention is best for the nurse to implement when caring for this client? A. Help the client to accept the final stage of life. B. Assist and support the client in establishing short-term goals. C. Encourage the client to make future plans, even if they are unrealistic. D. Instruct the client's family to focus on positive aspects of the client's life.

A healthcare provider is performing a sterile procedure at a client's bedside. Near the end of the procedure, the nurse observes the healthcare provider contaminate a sterile glove and the sterile field. What is the best action for the nurse to implement? A. Report the healthcare provider for the violation in aseptic technique. B. Allow the completion of the procedure. C. Ask if the glove and sterile field are contaminated. D. Identify the break in surgical asepsis and provide another set of sterile supplies.

The nurse is preparing to irrigate a client's indwelling urinary catheter using an open technique. What action should the nurse take after applying gloves? A. Empty the client's urinary drainage bag. B. Draw up the irrigating solution into the syringe. C. Secure the client's catheter to the drainage tubing. D. Use aseptic technique to instill the irrigating solution.

Which client assessment data is most important for the nurse to consider before ambulating a postoperative client? A. Respiratory rate. B. Wound location. C. Pedal pulses. D. Pain rating.

A client with Raynaud's disease asks the nurse about using biofeedback for self-management of symptoms. What response is best for the nurse to provide? A. The responses to biofeedback have not been well established and may be a waste of time and money. B. Biofeedback requires extensive training to retrain voluntary muscles, not involuntary responses. C. Although biofeedback is easily learned, it is mostly often used to manage exacerbation of symptoms. D. Biofeedback allows the client to control involuntary responses to promote peripheral vasodilation.

The daughter of an older woman who became depressed following the death of her husband asks, "My mother was always well-adjusted until my father died. Will she tend to be sick from now on?" Which response is best for the nurse to provide? A. She is almost sure to be less able to adapt than before. B. It's highly likely that she will recover and return to her pre-illness state. C. If you can interest her in something besides religion, it will help her stay well. D. Cultural strains contribute to each woman's tendencies for recurrences of depression.

A signed consent form indicated a client should have an electromyogram, but a myelogram was performed instead. Though the myelogram revealed the cause of the client's back pain, which was subsequently treated, the client filed a lawsuit against the nurse and healthcare provider for performing the incorrect procedure. The court is likely to rule in favor of the plaintiff because these events represent what infraction? A. A quasi-intentional tort because a similar mistake can happen to anyone. B. Failure to respect client autonomy to choose based on intentional tort law. C. Assault and battery with deliberate intent to deviate from the consent form. D. An unintentional tort because the client benefited from having the myelogram.

The nurse removes the dressing on a client's heel that is covering a pressure sore one-inch in diameter and finds that there is straw-colored drainage seeping from the wound. What description of this finding should the nurse include in the client's record? A. Stage 1 pressure sore draining sero-sanguineous drainage. B. Pressure sore at bony prominence with exudate noted. C. One-inch pressure sore draining serous fluid. D. Pressure sore on heel with a small amount of purulent drainage.

The nurse overhears the healthcare provider explaining to the client that the tumor removed was non-malignant and that the client will be fine. However, the nurse has read in the pathology report that the tumor was malignant and that there is extensive metastasis. Who should the nurse consult with first regarding the situation? A. Healthcare provider. B. Client's family. C. Case manager. D. Chief of staff.

Which statement correctly identifies a written learning objective for a client with peripheral vascular disease? A. The nurse will provide client instruction for daily foot care. B. The client will demonstrate proper trimming toenail technique. C. Upon discharge, the client will list three ways to protect the feet from injury. D. After instruction, the nurse will ensure the client understands foot care rationale. Correct Answer: C

How should the nurse handle linens that are soiled with incontinent feces? A. Put the soiled linens in an isolation bag, then place it in the dirty linen hamper. B. Place an isolation hamper in the client's room and discard the linens in it. C. Place the soiled linens in a pillow case and deposit them in the dirty linen hamper. D. Ask the housekeeping staff to pick up the soiled linen from the dirty utility room.

What is the rationale for using the nursing process in planning care for clients? A. As a scientific process to identify nursing diagnoses of a clients' healthcare problems. B. To establish nursing theory that incorporates the biopsychosocial nature of humans. C. As a tool to organize thinking and clinical decision making about clients' healthcare needs. D. To promote the management of client care in collaboration with other healthcare professionals.

A client who has moderate, persistent, chronic neuropathic pain due to diabetic neuropathy takes gabapentin (Neurontin) and ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil) daily. If Step 2 of the World Health Organization (WHO) pain relief ladder is prescribed, which drug protocol should be implemented? A. Continue gabapentin. B. Discontinue ibuprofen. C. Add aspirin to the protocol. D. Add oral methadone to the protocol.

An older client who is able to stand but not to ambulate receives a prescription to be mobilized into a chair as tolerated during each day. What is the best action for the nurse to implement when assisting the client from the bed to the chair? A. Use a mechanical lift to transfer from the bed to a chair. B. Place a roller board under the client who is sitting on the side of the bed and slide the client to the chair. C. Lift the client out of bed to the chair with another staff member using a coordinated effort on the count of three. D. Place a transfer belt around the client, assist to stand, and pivot to a chair that is placed at a right angle to the bed.