An emergency room nurse is triaging victims of a multi-casualty ...

[mia]

An emergency room nurse is triaging victims of a multi-casualty event. Which client should receive care first?
 
  a. A 30-year-old distraught mother holding her crying child
  b. A 65-year-old conscious male with a head laceration
  c. A 26-year-old male who has pale, cool, clammy skin
  d. A 48-year-old with a simple fracture of the lower leg

Question 2

The emergency department team is performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on a client when the client's spouse arrives at the emergency department. Which action should the nurse take first?
 
  a. Request that the client's spouse sit in the waiting room.
  b. Ask the spouse if he wishes to be present during the resuscitation.
  c. Suggest that the spouse begin to pray for the client.
  d. Refer the client's spouse to the hospital's crisis team.

[fatboyy09]

Answer to Question 1

ANS: C
The client with pale, cool, clammy skin is in shock and needs immediate medical attention. The mother does not have injuries and so would be the lowest priority. The other two people need medical attention soon, but not at the expense of a person in shock.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: B
If resuscitation efforts are still under way when the family arrives, one or two family members may be given the opportunity to be present during lifesaving procedures. The other options do not give the spouse the opportunity to be present for the client or to begin to have closure.