• NCLEX Pretest
  • Time Used 0:00:00

The nurse is supervising a student nurse in the care of a patient following a percutaneous liver biopsy. The student nurse instructs the patient to lie on his left side following the procedure. Which response by the nurse is most appropriate?

Correct

  • Praise the student nurse for remembering proper patient positioning
  • Instruct the student nurse to help the patient to lie on the right side
  • Remind the student nurse to ambulate the patient prior to positioning on the left side
  • Provide feedback to the unit educator that the student nurse needs review in patient positioning

Rationale

The patient is at an increased risk for hemorrhage following a percutaneous liver biopsy. In order to reduce the risk of hemorrhage, the patient should be positioned in such a way as to place pressure on the biopsy site. Therefore, the patient should be positioned on his right side, not his left. Although the unit educator might need to be notified of the student nurse’s learning needs, correcting the mistake in patient positioning immediately with the student nurse will better reinforce the concept, as well as ensure patient safety. It would be inappropriate for the nurse to praise the student nurse for proper positioning because the positioning is incorrect. Ambulation increases the risk for hemorrhage following a percutaneous liver biopsy, so this is an incorrect instruction.

  • Category: Reduction of Risk Potential
  • Difficulty: 7
  • Tags: Communication & Documentation Gastrointestinal Hematology/Oncology

Question 13 of 30

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