We had our first test in Med-Surg test last week. There was one question that had me and some of my classmates wondering. Let me know what you guys think
You are the recieving nurse accepting a patient to a med-surg floor from the PACU. What is the first thing you do?
A Check patient's level of consciousness
B See if patient's family is present
C Check patient's vital signs
D Order the patient dinner
For the record, I got the question wrong, asked the teacher the rationale and I am fine with it, although I still disagree. I am not going to fight a losing battle.
Check vital signs. A mental health can take a long time depends how thoroughly you do it . Check assessment textbook. I think I would want to know my pt's vital signs right when I receive them so I know which state I had received them in. I would want to be responsible and be familiar with what their vital signs are like. What if I do a mental test and something out of the blue occurs (vomitting, seizure, trip, fell and struck their head)?
My first reaction is: definitely vital signs...Although my thought process wasn't quite as detailed as DAytonite's, my rationale is that vital signs tell you so much more about the basic body functioning. Even a person in a coma has vital signs...
I've taken advance practice nursing courses, and in all of my courses, without any hesitation at all, the MOST important factor is a patient's level of consciousness. Always, always, always. If a patient is alert and oriented, but you get a a BP of 30/15, then obviously something isn't adding up.
Level of consciousness is the most realiable and accurate way to do your initial assessment of a patient. This is what has been drilled into my head for many years, at least.
But for purposes of YOUR test, the correct answer is always what your book says :)
cursedandblessed
522 Posts
okay, i always think too much into it. but i did pass the cardio test!!!