Ambulatory Care Nursing Flashcards
7 cards from real Ambulatory Care Test practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Ambulatory Care Nursing flashcards as text
A patient scheduled for outpatient knee arthroscopy asks if they can take their daily aspirin the morning of surgery. What is the nurse's best response?
Answer: No, aspirin should be held for 7–10 days prior as directed by the surgeon
Aspirin irreversibly inhibits platelets for their 7–10 day lifespan, so surgeons typically require it to be held before elective procedures to reduce bleeding risk.
Which patient is MOST appropriate for ambulatory (same-day) surgery rather than inpatient admission?
Answer: A 45-year-old ASA class II undergoing elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy
ASA class II patients with controlled comorbidities undergoing short, low-risk procedures are ideal candidates for ambulatory surgery.
An ambulatory care nurse is teaching a patient about self-monitoring blood glucose. Using the teach-back method, the nurse asks the patient to demonstrate the process. The patient performs several steps incorrectly. What should the nurse do?
Answer: Re-educate on the missed steps and ask the patient to demonstrate again
Teach-back requires re-teaching and re-demonstration until the patient can correctly perform all steps before the session ends.
A patient with a latex allergy is scheduled for a procedure in the ambulatory care center. Which nursing action is the highest priority?
Answer: Schedule the patient as the first case of the day and ensure a latex-free environment
Scheduling a latex-allergic patient first minimizes airborne latex particle accumulation and ensures a thoroughly latex-free environment before exposure risk escalates.
Under the AAACN standards, which activity reflects the ambulatory care nurse's role in population health management?
Answer: Identifying patients overdue for cancer screenings and coordinating outreach
Population health management involves proactively tracking and outreaching to cohorts of patients to close care gaps such as missed preventive screenings.
A nurse notes that a patient's electronic health record has a documented penicillin allergy, but the provider has ordered amoxicillin. What is the most appropriate nursing action?
Answer: Hold the medication and contact the provider to clarify the order before administering
Amoxicillin is a penicillin-class antibiotic; the nurse must clarify with the prescriber before administration due to cross-reactivity risk.
A patient calls the clinic three days after starting oral antibiotics for a urinary tract infection and reports diarrhea. Which assessment question is most important for the triage nurse to ask first?
Answer: Is the diarrhea bloody, and do you have fever or severe abdominal cramping?
Bloody diarrhea, fever, and severe cramping are red flags for Clostridioides difficile infection, which requires urgent evaluation.