A client feels that the nurse does not enter the room often enough and asks the nurse why there are so many clients on the nurse's assignment list. The best response by the nurse is:

Question

1. "Most of the clients do not require much care.".
2. "The hospital has cut staff, but I manage to get the work done.".
3. "I do have to take short cuts every now and then.".
4. "There are insufficient health care workers to meet the need right now.".

Answer 1

4. "There are insufficient health care workers to meet the need right now.".

Rationale:
At the current time in the U.S., there are not enough health care providers to meet the health care needs. As more care is delivered in other settings to decrease costs, clients who are hospitalized are generally in poorer health than in the past. Many nurses are not able to deliver the type of care needed for these sicker clients. Hospitals are revamping health care delivery models to meet the care of the clients. Some nurses may indeed have to take short cuts, but it would be inappropriate to mention that to the client.