The client is an older woman having an excisional biopsy performed on a 4-mm lesion on the back of her neck, which will be closed with one or two sutures. She asks if she can go to her card party tonight. What is your best response?
A. "Yes, just keep the dressing on until tomorrow."
B. "Yes, as long as no one there has a cold or other infection."
C. "No, you must remain still to prevent excessive bleeding from the incision."
D. "No, you will not have recovered sufficiently from the anesthesia to go out this evening."
A
The excision is not deep and should cause minimal pain. There is no reason for this client not to go about her normal activities as long as she protects the site from infection.
You might also like to view...
A nurse is leading a discussion with a group of residents of a Jewish long-term care facility. When discussing dietary laws and other religious practices, what should the nurse anticipate as the most prominent need of these patients?
a. Fasting every Friday night from sunset until sunset on the following Saturday and not taking them to the dining room b. Having a quiet time for prayer provided before and after all meals c. Serving meat and milk products at the same time but on separate plates d. Allowing Jewish men to shave before their Sabbath
The home health nurse discovers that a homebound cancer patient is using marijuana to control nausea from chemotherapy. What advice should the nurse give this patient?
Note: Credit will be given only if all correct choices and no incorrect choices are selected. Select all that apply. 1. The effect of marijuana on decreasing nausea is fleeting and not worth the health problems caused by using it. 2. Since the patient is homebound, it is likely the use of marijuana will not be discovered by anyone else. 3. Possession of marijuana is illegal under federal law. 4. Some states have current legislative guidelines for legal possession of medical marijuana. 5. As long as it is documented that an illness exists that can be treated with marijuana, no risk of prosecution is present.
When you suspect that your 81-year-old patient has short-term memory loss because he cannot remember what he had for breakfast, you should:
a. order a neurology consult. b. stop all of his medications. c. validate the concern with his family or caregivers. d. dismiss the finding as a normal age-related change.
The nurse is changing an external urinary catheter on a male patient. Which observation by the nurse requires additional attention?
a. The patient urinates at least every 4 hours. b. The patient's urine is dark yellow and clear. c. The skin of the penis under the catheter is dusky. d. The patient applies the catheter indepen-dently.