Study Guide for Fundamentals of Nursing The Art and Science of Nursing Care

13.Describe the ABCs of basic life support.

a.

b.

c.

14.What is the nurse’s responsibility when aspi-

rating a patient’s pleural cavity?

15.Describe seven comfort measures for patients

with impaired respiratory functioning.

a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

f.

g.

APPLYING YOUR KNOWLEDGE

CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS

1.Develop a set of nursing strategies to promote

adequate respiratory functioning in the

following patients.

a.A patient with lung cancer presents with

blood in his sputum.

b.A child with cystic fibrosis is having

difficulty breathing.

c.A young woman with asthma develops

pneumonia.

d.A 48-year-old man who smokes a pack of

cigarettes a day presents with emphysema.

What is it that makes the strategies you

selected appropriate/effective?

2.Interview young people who are smokers to

find out their opinions about the health risks

associated with smoking. See if they would be

willing to quit with your help. Is the knowledge

of health risk sufficient to motivate lifestyle

modifications? What are the implications for

your practice?

REFLECTIVE PRACTICE USING CRITICAL

THINKING SKILLS

Use the following expanded scenario from

Chapter 39 in your textbook to answer the

questions below.

Scenario:Joan McIntyre, age 72, is in the med-

ical intensive care unit, diagnosed with severe

COPD. Unable to breathe on her own, she has

a tracheostomy and is receiving mechanical

ventilation. Efforts are being made to wean

her from the ventilator, but she has been

unable to breathe on her own for any length

of time. She has written notes asking the staff

to “let me go” the next time she fails to be

weaned. Her only daughter is by her side and

asks that all measures to save her mother’s life

be initiated.

1.How might the nurse respond to Ms. McIntyre’s

request for a DNR order while taking into con-

sideration the wishes of her daughter?

2.What would be a successful outcome for this

patient?

3.What intellectual, technical, interpersonal,

and/or ethical/legal competencies are most

likely to bring about the desired outcome?

4.What resources might be helpful for Ms.

McIntyre?

CHAPTER 39 OXYGENATION 269

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