The registered nurse (RN) is caring for a client with severe cardiac disease. While caring for the client, the client states, "If anything should happen to me, please make sure that the doctors do not try to push on my chest and revive me

Question

" The most appropriate nursing action is to: 1. Tell the client that the family must agree with the request.
2. Plan a client conference with the nursing staff to share the client's request.
3. Tell the client that it is necessary to notify the physician of the client's request.
4. Tell the client that this procedure cannot legally be refused by a client if the phy-sician believes that it is necessary to save the client's life.

Answer 1

3

Rationale: External cardiac massage is one type of treatment that a client can refuse. The most appropriate nursing action is to notify the physician, because a written Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) prescription from the physician must be present on the client's record. The DNR pre-scription must be reviewed or renewed on a regular basis per agency policy. "Tell the client that the family must agree with the request" and "tell the client that this procedure cannot legally be refused by a client if the physician believes that it is necessary to save the client's life" are inac-curate. "Plan a client conference with the nursing staff to share the client's request" may be ap-propriate but only after the physician is contacted and notified of the client's request.