The nurse is instilling eardrops into a client's ear. Place the following in order according to best practice. (Separate letters by a comma and space as follows: a, b, c, d.)

Question

a. Ask the client to move the head gently back and forth five times.
b. Wash your hands.
c. Wear gloves to remove any packing from the ear.
d. Perform an otoscopic examination to see if the eardrum is intact.
e. Irrigate the ear if needed to remove cerumen.
f. Tilt the client's head in the opposite direction of the affected ear and place the drops in the affected ear.
g. Warm the bottle of eardrops in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes.
h. Wash your hands again.
i. Insert a ball of cotton in the ear as packing.

Answer 1

c, b, d, e, g, f, a, i, h
The correct sequence for performing this action is as follows: Remove any existing packing from the client's ear while wearing gloves, wash your hands, check the eardrum with an otoscope to ensure that it is intact, irrigate the ear if needed, warm the eardrops, tilt the client's head opposite the affected ear and instill the drops, ask the client to move his or her head back and forth five times, insert a cotton ball in the ear, and finally wash your hands again.