Which statement related to prioritizing patient problems is most accurate?
a. Nurses must resolve one problem before addressing another problem.
b. Nurses prioritize problems in order of urgency.
c. Actual problem always take priority over risk problems.
d. Nurses give the highest priority to problems that the patient thinks are most important.
B
Patients often have more than one problem, so the nurse must use nursing judgment to decide which to address first and which can wait. Nurses do not need to resolve one problem before attending to another. Actually, in many circumstances nurses may be assessing and intervening for several problems at the same time. Prioritization implies a ranking of urgency to patient problems according to the degree of threat they pose to the patient's life or to the immediacy with which treatment is needed. Highest priority is always given to life-threatening problems; however, not all patient problems are life threatening. Frequently, nurses encounter risk problems that may earn a higher priority ranking than an actual problem. Giving priority to problems tht the patient thinks are most important is important, providing this does not conflict with the basic/survival needs or medical treatments.
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