Safe and Effective Care Environment Flashcards
6 cards from real RN practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Safe and Effective Care Environment flashcards as text
A nurse is assigned four patients. Which patient should the nurse assess first?
Answer: A post-operative patient reporting sudden onset of chest pain and shortness of breath 6 hours after surgery
Sudden chest pain and dyspnea in a post-operative patient may indicate pulmonary embolism, a life-threatening emergency requiring immediate assessment using ABCs.
A nurse discovers a medication error was made by the previous shift nurse. The correct action is to:
Answer: Assess the patient, notify the physician and charge nurse, document accurately, and complete an incident report
Patient safety requires immediate assessment and physician notification; transparent documentation and an incident report enable systems analysis to prevent future errors.
A patient is scheduled for surgery on the left knee but the consent form reads 'right knee.' The nurse's correct action is:
Answer: Delay the procedure and notify the surgeon to correct the consent before proceeding
Surgical site errors are never events; the nurse must halt the procedure, notify the surgeon, and ensure the consent is corrected and resigned before proceeding per the Universal Protocol.
Which nursing task is most appropriate to delegate to an unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP)?
Answer: Measuring and recording urine output for a stable patient
Measuring and recording urine output is within the UAP's scope as it involves data collection from a stable patient; assessment, medication administration, and sterile procedures require nursing judgment.
A patient in restraints must be reassessed at minimum every:
Answer: 15 minutes for behavioral restraints
CMS and Joint Commission require that patients in behavioral (violent) restraints be assessed every 15 minutes, while non-violent restraints require reassessment every 2 hours.
A nurse administers the wrong dose of insulin to a patient. Which document should NOT be referenced in the patient's medical record?
Answer: The incident/occurrence report
Incident reports are internal quality improvement tools and should never be referenced, attached, or mentioned in the patient's medical record, as they are protected documents.