The nurse executive of a healthcare organization is working with the chief financial officer to develop a method of charging for nursing services. Why is this undertaking difficult?
1. The historical method of recouping the cost of nursing salaries has been to bundle those costs in with ancillary services salaries.
2. The actual cost of providing nursing services is difficult to determine.
3. The number of patients on a given unit varies from day to day.
4. Nurses do not like to think about charging for their services.
2
Rationale 1: Historically, the cost of nursing has been included in the total bill. Nursing services have not been charged for separately or bundled in with other salary lines.
Rationale 2: This is a primary issue. Nursing services are so pervasive throughout the patient's care that it is difficult to determine the actual cost.
Rationale 3: Although it might be logical to divide the cost of nursing salaries per day by the number of patients cared for in a day, this does not work in practice.
Rationale 4: Although nurses may have not thought about the cost of providing services in the past, today's environment has made this a part of each nurse's responsibility.
Global Rationale:
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When handed the consent form to sign before treatment could be given, a client looked at the nurse and said, "I'm sorry; I forgot my glasses today." Which of the following actions should be taken by the nurse?
a. Ask if the client can use a magnifying glass to better see the form b. Suggest the client bring his glasses or someone else with him to assist with the forms c. Tell the patient why the form was necessary and point to where the patient should sign d. Wonder if the patient might have difficulty with reading and therefore summarize the content of the form for the client
The nurse is assessing the tympanic temperature of several children. The nurse documents that the child with which temperature reading has a fever?
A) 99.5°F B) 99.2°F C) 100.0°F D) 100.8°F
When a client has trigeminal neuralgia, the client should be carefully assessed for:
A) signs and symptoms of acute cholinergic crisis. B) symptoms of acute respiratory distress. C) changes in the level of consciousness. D) trigger zones that cause pain when stimulated.
A 51-year-old male patient has a new diagnosis of Crohn's disease after having frequent diarrhea and a weight loss of 10 pounds (4.5 kg) over 2 months. The nurse will plan to teach about
a. medication use. b. fluid restriction. c. enteral nutrition. d. activity restrictions.