Prioritising Patients

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Okay, so I was given a task to discuss which patient would be prioritised when it came to a hip replacement, a middle aged man or an elderly woman. I believe that the man would be prioritised however I'm not sure as I am finding it very difficult to find reason to support my choice. All I can think of is the fact that the man would get a longer usage from the replacement and that the woman could encounter more risks during surgery and healing time due to the fact that she is at a frailer point in her life.

it would be incredibly helpful if anyone could provide me with any more information or correct me if I have anything wrong.

Thank you.

If the question refers to who to assess first, I don't think there is enough info. Time post-op, VS trends, medical hx, current symptoms reported, etc. are necessary. I can't think of a time that sex or age of a pt was a determining factor for me when prioritizing care?

What about on the NCLEX?

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Specializes in PACU, pre/postoperative, ortho.

IMO, there would have to be more info for me to be able to answer who is better candidate. If the options are simply...

1. a middle aged man

2. an elderly woman

....answering either way is making assumptions about the medical status of both pts.

I've never seen an NCLEX question that didn't give a ton of info, sometimes extra unnecessary details. Thankfully NCLEX is ancient hx for me.

OP, were there other details in the question?

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Specializes in HH, Peds, Rehab, Clinical.

"given a task" must be the new slang for "this is my homework".

Okay, so I was given a task to discuss which patient would be prioritised when it came to a hip replacement, a middle aged man or an elderly woman. I believe that the man would be prioritised however I'm not sure as I am finding it very difficult to find reason to support my choice. All I can think of is the fact that the man would get a longer usage from the replacement and that the woman could encounter more risks during surgery and healing time due to the fact that she is at a frailer point in her life.

it would be incredibly helpful if anyone could provide me with any more information or correct me if I have anything wrong.

Thank you.

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Specializes in MICU, SICU, CICU.

This thread is stupid.

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OP, look at the whole patient. Fall risk, INR, how their pain has been controlled.

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Moved to specialized forum.

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Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.

Based on your answer, it sounds like the question is which pt should have the hip replacement first--not which post-THA pt should the RN see first.

If my assumption is correct, here's a thought: whichever pt the orthopedic surgeon decides to. And he/she can probably schedule two the same day...it's not a heart-lung transplant, folks. An RN is never, ever, ever going to make the decision who gets a surgery and who doesn't.

Very odd question.

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Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.

You cannot prioritize solely on the basis of age and gender. If this is about which patient to see first, you would need to know what POD it is, recent vitals, etc, etc.

If you are meant to decide who is more deserving of a new hip--well, that is a stupid question and way out of the scope of nursing. Is this some sort of a joint replacement reality show??

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I don't understand. This isn't a shortage of implants.

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Specializes in HH, Peds, Rehab, Clinical.

I think we'll never know. Another new poster who doesn't bother to come back WAS amongst us

You cannot prioritize solely on the basis of age and gender. If this is about which patient to see first, you would need to know what POD it is, recent vitals, etc, etc.

If you are meant to decide who is more deserving of a new hip--well, that is a stupid question and way out of the scope of nursing. Is this some sort of a joint replacement reality show??

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Specializes in Hospice.

This is why I now check out a one time poster before I invest time and effort into responding to them.

This one has had 9 different names over 11 years.

She started out in 2004 as an LPN from Kentucky, then was variously:

07-a hopeful nursing student from Alberta,

08-an RN,

08-a hearing impaired RN with 26 years experience, most in critical care,

09-still a hopeful nursing student in the U.S.,

09-wanted to go to France and be a nurse,

09-1st semester nursing student,

11-Dialysis nurse with 15 years of experience.

Is there such a thing as Munchausen's Nursing Syndrome??

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
This is why I now check out a one time poster before I invest time and effort into responding to them.

This one has had 9 different names over 11 years.

She started out in 2004 as an LPN from Kentucky, then was variously:

07-a hopeful nursing student from Alberta,

08-an RN,

08-a hearing impaired RN with 26 years experience, most in critical care,

09-still a hopeful nursing student in the U.S.,

09-wanted to go to France and be a nurse,

09-1st semester nursing student,

11-Dialysis nurse with 15 years of experience.

Is there such a thing as Munchausen's Nursing Syndrome??

The OP has 2 posts. If you are checking post history via the app it pulls anything that is similar or contains components of the user name. So your details don't apply to this post and run newbie. The history above refers to anyone with curiouss in their name,CuriousShark, CuriousSue, egg

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