An older patient who is dying is unable to fully close the eyes. What can the nurse do to protect the patient's eyes from irritation?
1. Apply eye guards.
2. Apply artificial tears.
3. Tape the eyes closed.
4. Reduce the room lighting.
2. Apply artificial tears.
Explanation: 1. Eye guards are not used to protect the eyes of a dying patient from drying out.
2. As death approaches and the patient becomes increasingly sedated, the blink reflex decreases resulting in dry eyes. Opened or half-opened eyelids dry and become irritated. Frequent eye care is provided to promote comfort when this occurs. Artificial tears may be used to prevent drying of the eyes.
3. Taping the eyes closed is not an intervention to protect the eyes of a dying patient from drying out.
4. Reducing the lighting in the room is not an intervention to protect the eyes of a dying patient from drying out.
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Fill in the blank(s) with correct word
The nurse participates in the patient's resuscitation. Which patient assessment finding does the nurse determine to be an undesirable event during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)?
a. Bruising is present over the anterior tho-rax. b. The abdomen has become distended. c. The patient has an advance directive. d. An airway is in place without gagging.
By inquiring about the expectations and plans that a laboring woman and her partner have for the labor and birth, the nurse is primarily:
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