A patient with cancer is undergoing outpatient chemotherapy. The clinic nurse notes that the patient's white blood cell count is very low and has little energy. The plan of care is based upon the nursing diagnosis Risk for Infection
The nurse provides patient teaching in order to reduce the risk for infection. The nurse is using which skill in this situation? a. Medical diagnosis
b. Scientific method
c. Diagnostic reasoning
d. Data collection
C
The nurse used diagnostic reasoning by using data (low white blood cells and little energy) to arrive at a patient's health problem/nursing diagnosis (Risk for Infection). Diagnostic reasoning is the analytical process for determining a patient's health problems. It requires you to assign meaning to the behaviors and physical signs and symptoms presented by a patient. Nurses do not make medical diagnoses; they make nursing diagnoses. The scientific method is one formal way (in this scenario the nurse did not use the formal approach) to approach a problem, plan a solution, test the solution, and come to a conclusion; it is usually used in research. Data collection is a component of assessment in the nursing process. In diagnostic reasoning you use patient data that you gather or collect to logically identify a problem. The nurse in this scenario is past data collection and has made a nursing diagnosis: Risk for Infection.
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An elderly client diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes mellitus frequently reports that his tea is "way too sweet" even though the staff adds only the 1 teaspoon of sugar substitute the client requests
The most likely reason for this response is that: 1. The client's perception of sweetness has become more sensitive. 2. Sugar substitutes are sweeter than natural sugar. 3. Diabetes mellitus can alter one's tolerance for sugar. 4. The client has not adjusted to the use of sugar substitutes.
When screening for, monitoring, and diagnosing disease, a health-care provider always evaluates a measurement tool for which of the following attributes?
A. Reliability B. Validity C. Functionality D. Sensitivity E. Specificity
In class, students tell the teacher that they often watch or observe themselves as they perform tasks or make decisions about particular situations. The teacher would most likely inform the students that what they are doing is called:
a. critical thinking. c. intuitive thinking. b. decision making. d. reflective thinking.
The nurse is administering pain medication for a child with continuous pain from internal injuries. Which method would be ordered to dispense the medication?
A) Administer the medication PRN (as needed). B) Administer the mediation when pain has peaked. C) Administer the medication around the clock at timed intervals. D) Administer the medication when the child complains of pain.