Exam 20: Nursing Management: Postoperative Care

When caring for a patient during the second postoperative day after abdominal surgery, the nurse obtains an oral temperature of 100.8° F. Which action is appropriate for the nurse to take first?

A patient becomes restless and agitated while beginning to regain consciousness in the PACU, and the SpO₂ is 88%. The nurse should first

Postoperatively a patient is receiving low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH). When administering this drug, the nurse

During recovery from anesthesia in the PACU, a patient's vital signs for the past hour have been blood pressure 112/82, 110/82, 112/80, 114/82; pulse 76, 78, 78, 80; and respirations 22, 24, 24, 26; her SpO₂ is 90%. The patient is sleepy but awakens easily and is oriented when spoken to. Her surgical dressing is dry and intact. The most appropriate action by the nurse is to

In intervening to promote ambulation, coughing, deep breathing, and turning by a postoperative patient on the first postoperative day, which action by the nurse is most helpful?

A patient who has begun to awaken after 30 minutes in the PACU is restless and shouting at the nurse. The patient's oxygen saturation is 99%, and recent lab results are all normal. Which action by the nurse is most appropriate?

While assessing patients for complications during recovery from anesthesia, the nurse recognizes that the patient who is at the greatest risk for developing postoperative hypothermia is a

When a patient is transferred from the PACU to the clinical surgical unit, the first action by the nurse on the surgical unit should be to

To promote venous return from the lower extremities for a patient who has had an open cholecystectomy, the nurse will encourage the patient to do which exercises? (Select all that apply.)

A postoperative patient has not voided for 7 hours after return to the postsurgical unit. Initially the nurse should

After a new nurse has been oriented to the PACU, the charge nurse will evaluate that the orientation has been successful when the new nurse

While caring for a postoperative patient on the second postoperative day, which information about the patient is most important to communicate to the health care provider?

On admission of a patient to the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) from surgery, the nurse should first assess the

Following gallbladder surgery, a patient has a T-tube with thick, dark green drainage. When the patient asks about the tube and the drainage, the best response by the nurse is

A patient complains of dizziness when ambulating in the room on the first postoperative day. In what order will the nurse accomplish the following activities? (All the activities are appropriate.)

An 83-year-old patient had a surgical repair of a hip fracture and has restrictions on ambulation. Based on this information, the nurse identifies the priority collaborative problem for the patient as potential complication:

While caring for a patient with abdominal surgery the first postoperative day, the nurse notices new bright-red drainage about 6 cm in diameter on the dressing. In response to this finding, the nurse should initially

A 42-year-old patient is recovering from anesthesia in the PACU. On admission to the PACU the blood pressure (BP) was 124/70. Thirty minutes after admission, the blood pressure falls to 112/60, with a pulse of 72 and warm, dry skin. The most appropriate action by the nurse at this time is to

A 75-year-old patient is to be discharged from the ambulatory surgical unit following left eye surgery. The patient tells the nurse, "I do not know if I can take care of myself with this patch over my eye." The most appropriate nursing action is to

When a postoperative patient in the PACU complains of pain at the abdominal incision site, the nurse should