Management of Care Q 21
Which patient should you, as charge nurse, assign to a new graduate RN who is orienting to the neurologic unit?
A. A 28-year-old newly admitted patient with spinal cord injury.
B. A 67-year-old patient with stroke 3 days ago and left-sided weakness.
C. An 85-year-old dementia patient to be transferred to long-term care today.
D. A 54-year-old patient with Parkinson’s who needs assistance with bathing.
Correct Answer: B. A 67-year-old patient with stroke 3 days ago and left-sided weakness.
The new graduate RN who is oriented to the unit should be assigned stable, non-complex patients, such as the patient with stroke.
Option A: The newly admitted SCI should be assigned to experienced nurses. Most cases of SCI take place when trauma breaks and squeezes the vertebrae, or the bones of the back. This, in turn, damages the axons—the long nerve cell “wires” that pass through vertebrae, carrying signals between the brain and the rest of the body. The axons might be crushed or completely severed by this damage. Someone with injury to only a few axons might be able to recover completely from their injury. On the other hand, a person with damage to all axons will most likely be paralyzed in the areas below the injury.
Option C: A patient for transfer should be assigned to a nurse who has experience in the process of transferring patients.
Option D: The patient with Parkinson’s disease needs assistance with bathing, which is best delegated to the nursing assistant.