Following a motor vehicle accident, the patient is brought via ambulance to the emergency department (ED). The patient is unconscious during the mental status exam. The nurse attempts to arouse the patient by calling her name, but the patient does not respond. Following a firm sternal rub, the patient’s flexes the arms into the chest and moans. The nurse documents the patient’s Glasgow Coma Scale score as which number? Enter your response using a whole number.

The patient is hunched over in the emergency department waiting room, breathing slowly and shallowly. His wife insists he “took something”. The man has bradypnea and marked miosis. Which intoxicant does the nurse suspect?

The nurse is providing education to a patient with an acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Which of the following body positions does the nurse teach the patient to assume to help him breathe more easily?