What would your answer be to this question?

[SouthernNurse27]

Okay I had this question on one of my finals. I was really sort of torn one this one.

What is the nurses priority?

A. Assessment

B. pain relief

C. Turn, cough, deep breathe

D. Some off the wall answer I don't remember

I am only a 1st semester student. I ASSUMED answer C b/c of ABC's. Can you tell me what you think & you're rationale?

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

This is an NCLEX-type question. These, in turn, are based on the common mistakes new grads make in their first year of practice. They make many errors because the new nurses just didn't stop and get more information.

So... never choose the answer that turfs the responsibility off to another discipline, because they want to know what you the NURSE will do; never tell the patient "Don't worry," because people are entitled to more empathy than that; and if it's not an airway-breathing-CPR emergency (or a fire, in which case, the answer is, move the patient to safety first), your first impulse should always be to obtain more information. "Tell me more about that." "What do you know about your medication?" "Check the most recent lab work." "Do a head-to-toe assessment." "Administer the pain scale." "Auscultate the chest." "Palpate peripheral pulses."

[BrooklynRN11201]

AD-PIE

assess, diagnose, plan, implement, evaluate

the first step is ALWAYS to assess.... once you know what you're dealing with, yes, airway would come first.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

ADPIE or assessment diagnose plan intervention evaluate

assess