A nurse writes the diagnosis of "potential for infection" for a patient who has just had surgery. The charge nurse makes certain not to place a patient with a diagnosed infection in the same room with a fresh post-op patient

Question

The nurse does this to manage which of the following? a. Potential for noise in the room
b. Potential for patient complaints related to odors
c. The physical environment of the secondary health setting
d. The social environment within the secondary health setting

Answer 1

C
Much within the environment of the acute care setting has the potential to extend the patient's length of stay by introducing unexpected complications. Moving the patient through the acute care setting effectively and safely requires the RN to pay attention as the patient responds to the environment, as well as to anticipate the potential effects the environment, including staffing is-sues, may have. A common nursing diagnosis is "potential for infection," and nosocomial, or hospital-acquired, infections are just one of the problems that competent nursing management can prevent. The charge nurse can manage this environmental concern by basing bed assignments on the diagnoses of the patients and then subsequently basing caregiver assignment on qu-alifications.