A patient in the cardiac unit has a sudden onset of premature ventricular contractions. Which of the following should the nurse do first?
1. administer oxygen
2. assess electrolyte status
3. increase intravenous fluids
4. assess and describe the underlying cardiac rhythm and type of premature ventricular contraction
4
Rationale: The nurse should first assess and describe the patient's underlying cardiac rhythm and the type of premature ventricular contraction. After this, the nurse should assess the patient for factors that contribute to the development of premature ventricular contractions such as an electrolyte imbalance or hypoxemia. Increasing intravenous fluids is not indicated at this time.
You might also like to view...
The wife of a patient you are caring for asks to speak with you. She tells you that she is concerned because her husband is requiring increasingly high doses of analgesia
She states, "He was in pain long before he got cancer because he broke his back about 20 years ago. For that problem, though, his pain medicine wasn't just raised and raised." What would be the nurses' best response? A) "I didn't know that. I will speak to the doctor about your husband's pain control." B) "Much cancer pain is caused by tumor involvement and needs to be treated in a way that brings the patient relief." C) "Cancer is a chronic kind of pain so the more it hurts the patient, the more medicine we give the patient until it no longer hurts." D) "Does the increasing medication dosage concern you?"
Parents have been asked by the neonatologist to provide breast milk for their newborn son, who was born prematurely at 32 weeks of gestation
The nurse who instructs them about pumping, storing, and transporting the milk needs to assess their knowledge of lactation. What statement is valid? a. A premature infant more easily digests breast milk than formula. b. A glass of wine just before pumping will help reduce stress and anxiety. c. The mother should only pump as much as the infant can drink. d. The mother should pump every 2 to 3 hours, including during the night.
A 28-year-old woman has been an insulin-dependent diabetic for 10 years. At 36 weeks' gestation, she has an amniocentesis. A lecithin/sphingomyelin (L/S) ratio test is performed on the sample of her amniotic fluid
Since she is a diabetic, the 2:1 ratio obtained indicates that the fetus: 1. May or may not have immature lungs. 2. Has an intrauterine infection. 3. Has a neural tube defect. 4. Is at risk for hyperglycemia.
Which of the following are adverse working conditions that may impact the health status of nurses. Select all that apply
A) Physical hazards B) Radiation hazards C) Biological hazards D) Chemical hazards E) Low pay