Prioritization Question

You are being asked to problem solve. Use your problem solving tool--the nursing process. Identify which step each of your 7 activities would fall on and which is most important at what time and who you are doing the activity for. This is how I would sequence the activities:

6. Perform a complete physical examination - Assessment
7. Attach the patient to a cardiac monitor and pulse oximeter - Assessment - would be deemed necessary when doing the physical exam
1. Request a nutritional consult - Intervention (independent) - address nutrition issue before safety
4. Implement a falls precaution protocol - Intervention (independent) - address safety issue
3. Do extensive blood work analysis - Intervention (collaborative) - after notifying MD of any abnormal assessment data, MD orders would be carried out. This would be part of the MD's assessment, not the nursing assessment although we would be interested in the findings
2. Request a psychiatric consult - Intervention (collaborative) -if you feel a psych assessment is needed a physician's order is necessary and it is part of our management function to do that
5. Schedule early social work intervention - Intervention (independent) - in preparation for discharge

Where would putting the pt on a smoking cessation fall in here? I thought at first it was under social work (#5), but then I realized, that would be our job as RNs (to at least give the pt info on it). So would that be after nutrition consult? Or where... Thoughts?

This is for daytonite's prioritizationI am still a student nurse but for some reason i think you would put the patient on the ekg and pulse ox first knowing his history has BIG problems associated with respiratory.

Daytonite - I'm just curious why a nutrition precaution would come before a safety precaution. It sounds like the pt. already has COPD so wouldn't you want to secure the immediate need of the safety before a nutrition consult? I'm just curious. Otherwise, I would have ordered the exact same way. Thanks for your input!