A nurse is caring for a 16-year-old client who was in a motor-vehicle crash and needs surgical intervention immediately. The staff cannot reach either of the client's parents. The nurse should identify that which of the following is true about obtaining consent?
The surgeon should delay surgery until he can obtain informed consent from a parent.
The client's pediatrician can obtain implied consent.
The surgeon can proceed with the surgery by invoking implied consent.
The surgeon can obtain informed consent from the client's adult cousin.
The Correct Answer is C
A. Delaying surgery in a life-threatening situation could endanger the client, so waiting for parental consent is not required under emergency circumstances.
B. The pediatrician does not have the authority to provide implied consent; this legal principle applies directly to the care team in emergency situations.
C. In emergency situations where a minor requires immediate, life-saving treatment and a parent or legal guardian is not available, implied consent allows the surgeon to proceed with necessary interventions to prevent harm.
D. An adult cousin does not have legal authority to provide consent for a minor’s treatment unless specifically designated as a legal guardian.
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Correct Answer is A
Explanation
A. Providing postmortem care is a task that can be delegated to assistive personnel, as it involves following established protocols and does not require clinical judgment.
B. Reinforcing discharge instructions requires clinical knowledge and assessment, making it inappropriate for delegation to an AP.
C. Interpreting deviations in a client's vital signs necessitates nursing judgment and clinical expertise, which an AP does not possess.
D. Inserting an NG tube is a skilled nursing procedure that requires assessment and decision-making, thus it should not be delegated to an AP.
Correct Answer is D
Explanation
A. Selecting an intervention is a subsequent step and should be informed by the baseline data on infection rates.
B. Incorporating the change into daily practice is necessary later in the process, once a specific intervention has been chosen and planned.
C. Determining if the change has lowered the infection rate is part of the evaluation phase, following the implementation of interventions.
D. Identifying current infection rates provides baseline data, which is essential for measuring the effectiveness of future interventions. Without this data, it is impossible to determine whether any implemented changes result in improvement.