A nurse suspects that a patient being admitted for outpatient surgery may have a history of alcohol abuse. To further assess this issue, the nurse should consider:
a. using a screening tool, such as AUDIT-C to assess the extent of the abuse.
b. asking directly if the patient has ever had problems with abusing alcohol.
c. interviewing the family because the patient is likely to deny having a problem.
d. addressing the suspicion before discharge since it has no direct effect on the patient's surgery.
A
Screening tools like AUDIT-C increase the accuracy of assessment. Exploring alcohol use before a surgical procedure is important, because excessive use may result in the patient experiencing withdrawal symptoms or other alcohol-related problems postoperatively.
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Which had a major influence in shifting the care of elders away from the family and sti-mulated the growth of nursing homes in the 1960s?
a. Medicare and Medicaid b. Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing c. American Nurses Association (ANA) d. Health maintenance organizations (HMO)
An older patient is diagnosed with severe acute diverticulitis. What treatment should the nurse expect to be prescribed for this patient?
Select all that apply. 1. complete bed rest 2. intravenous fluids 3. nothing by mouth 4. aspirin or NSAIDs for pain 5. intravenous cefoxitin (Mefoxin)
The nurse working in the vision and hearing clinic receives telephone calls from several patients who want appointments in the clinic as soon as possible. Which patient should be seen first?
a. 71-year-old who has noticed increasing loss of peripheral vision b. 74-year-old who has difficulty seeing well enough to drive at night c. 60-year-old who has difficulty hearing clearly in a noisy environment d. 64-year-old who has decreased hearing and ear "stuffiness" without pain