Mrs. Bert is an 84-year-old woman with end-stage liver cancer and ...

[laurencescou]

Mrs. Bert is an 84-year-old woman with end-stage liver cancer and bone metastasis. Her family believes she is in considerable pain, but you observe her to be sleeping intermittently. As her nurse, you should
 
  a. Wait for Mrs. Bert to request pain medication; after all, she could not be in too much pain if she sleeps
  b. Medicate her only at night so she can get some quality sleep
  c. Medicate every 4 to 6 hours as ordered to provide continuous pain management
  d. Transfer her to the hospital

Question 2

Janet, an LPN, is in charge of Unit 2A in Shady Grove Nursing Home. She finds Mrs. Smith in the bathroom barely breathing. Janet calls for help and instructs the staff to call 911 and bring emergency supplies. Janet sets up oxygen for Mrs. Smith.
 
  Janet is guilty of
  a. Nothing: The Nurse Practice Act and facility procedures support this action
  b. Negligence: She did not get a specific order
  c. Omission: She did not chart the action
  d. None of the above

[s.meritte]

Answer to Question 1

C
Response A is incorrect because Mrs. Bert may be using sleep as a coping mechanism to deal with her pain. Response B is incorrect because quality of sleep is not the issuepain management is. Response D is inappropriate. Response C is correct; with continuous pain medication, Mrs. Bert would be able to rest well, have relief of pain, and perhaps have some interaction with family.

Answer to Question 2

A
The facility has policy and procedures for life-threatening situations, and Janet was within the guidelines. She did not need a patient-specific order because the facility standing procedure covers this event. The scenario does not go any further, so we do not know if she did or did not chart.

[laurencescou]

Thank you

[s.meritte]

No problemo