Nurses working in home health care must have all of the following skills and abilities. Which of these forms the foundation for all others?
a. ability to conduct ongoing client and family teaching
b. ability to work with the family to meet the client's needs
c. excellent assessment skills and a keen ability to identify problems
d. excellent nursing skills and creativity
C
Home health care may provide intravenous therapy, ventilator care, parenteral nutrition, chemotherapy, wound care, and special care for diabetes and cardiac or respiratory problems. A registered nurse calls on the client at certain intervals to assess the client's condition, supervise the work of LP/VNs and unlicensed workers, and deliver skilled nursing care. The LP/VN's responsibilities vary with the agency, but all nurses working in home care must have excellent assessment skills and the ability to identify actual and potential problems. Teaching the client and the family is a major responsibility for the home health nurse. Clients and families must be taught regarding the disease process, medications, special skills required, how to document signs and symptoms, and how and when to contact the home health care nurse, the physician, and emergency services.
You might also like to view...
The nurse is admitting a patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). During the initial head-to-toe assessment the patient's pulse oximetry reading is 89% on room air. What is the nurse's first priority?
a. Administer oxygen immediately @ 4L/NC. b. Call the primary health care provider for an order for oxygen. c. Assist the patient into a recumbent position. d. Determine the patient's normal pulse oximetry reading.
During a routine physical examination of a client's lungs, the nurse notes a small, fleshy bump on the client's upper chest. What should the nurse suspect as the cause of this finding on the client's skin?
A) Squamous cell carcinoma B) Basal cell carcinoma C) Actinic keratosis D) Malignant melanoma
The nurse is conducting teaching on stress management for a group of adults. What type of therapeutic group best describes the purpose of this group?
1. Activity 2. Support 3. Psychodynamic 4. Psychoeducational
When obtaining the vital signs of a client with multiple traumatic injuries, a nurse detects bradycardia, bradypnea, and systolic hypertension. The nurse must notify the physician immediately because these findings may reflect which complication?
a) Shock b) Encephalitis c) Increased intracranial pressure (ICP) d) Status epilepticus