Care must be taken in handling nasal and bronchial secretions of a patient with bacterial pneumonia primarily because:
A: suctioning is contraindicated in patients with pneumonia
B: the secretions may be highly contagious.
This question was on my exam. I chose A obviously correct answer was B. I know secretions are contagious but for some reason I thought suctioning wasn't suppose to be done with pneumonia due to bacteria spreading other places while taking suctioning out and I thought they wanted people with pneumonia to cough it out themselves. I was wondering if I'm a total dumbass and read the answer wrong or if there was some backup to why I answered A. Please help!! If you have any articles or websites backing up my answer please list.
I'm going to ask you to critically think about your questioning your educator. Does he/she have credentials such as a master's degree, R.N. licensure, and experience? What would enable you to reason about nursing issues more ably than this person? I'm a little confused about the need to compete with the instructor. Generally, we respect that authority.
Unless you are able to readily furnish material contradicting the instructor's input, which does happen as we have ever-changing evidence, it's more likely your instructor, who has more education, experience, and a license to practice, is correct.
Might 'they' prefer that patient cough and clear their own secretions? Sure. Anything invasive is always less desirable than anything non-invasive. The problem is, you're talking about a patient in the hospital who obviously is having an issue or they wouldn't be in the hospital. They're in the hospital precisely because they need the invasive and supportive interventions: IV antibiotics, suctioning, deep-breath and cough exercises, supplemental oxygen, nebulizer treatments, fluids, etc.
This is kind of a no-brainer question. You just over-thought it and led yourself astray. It really is as simple as it looks.
And the answer to your titular question is: Your teacher is correct.
melissamabd, DNP, RN
27 Posts
I'm going to ask you to critically think about your questioning your educator. Does he/she have credentials such as a master's degree, R.N. licensure, and experience? What would enable you to reason about nursing issues more ably than this person? I'm a little confused about the need to compete with the instructor. Generally, we respect that authority.
Unless you are able to readily furnish material contradicting the instructor's input, which does happen as we have ever-changing evidence, it's more likely your instructor, who has more education, experience, and a license to practice, is correct.