A charge nurse is observing a newly licensed nurse who is caring for a client who has pulmonary tuberculosis. The charge nurse should expect the newly licensed nurse to take which of the following actions?

The correct answers are Choices A and C.

Choice A rationale: Modeling positivity leverages social learning and transformational leadership, sets constructive norms, reduces uncertainty, and promotes psychological safety, facilitating Lewin’s change movement and sustained adoption of bariatric workflows and equipment safely.

Choice B rationale: Redirecting negativity suppresses concerns, undermines just culture, and blocks feedback necessary for Lewin’s unfreezing, reducing trust, psychological safety, and data to address barriers, thereby entrenching covert resistance to change process.

Choice C rationale: Engaging supportive peers utilizes diffusion of innovations and social proof; peer dialogue surfaces practical barriers, shares tacit knowledge, normalizes change behaviors, and increases motivation and adherence to bariatric care practices.

Choice D rationale: Suggesting transfers is coercive and punitive, contradicting transformational leadership and just culture, damages morale and retention, bypasses root-cause analysis, and fails to address legitimate change barriers or build sustainable engagement.

Choice E rationale: Reprimanding resistance pathologizes normal adaptation, undermines psychological safety and voice, increases turnover intentions, entrenches oppositional behavior, and conflicts with evidence-based change management; reserve discipline for misconduct, not expressed skepticism alone.

The correct answer is C.

Choice A: Take extra wheelchairs to the emergency department While having extra wheelchairs available can be helpful in a disaster situation, it is not the primary responsibility of the PACU charge nurse. The logistics of equipment distribution would typically be managed by a different team or department.

Choice B: Send PACU assistive personnel to assist with triage Triage is a critical part of disaster response, but it is typically performed by trained emergency department personnel or those with specific training in disaster triage. PACU personnel should focus on their area of expertise, which is post-anesthesia care.

Choice C: Identify stable clients for transfer to a surgical unit This is the correct action. By identifying stable clients for transfer, the PACU charge nurse can free up space for incoming patients who may require immediate post-operative care. This action helps to ensure that the PACU is ready to receive patients who are likely to come from the emergency department after immediate lifesaving interventions.

Choice D: Report to the command center for further instructions While communication with the command center is important in a disaster situation, the PACU charge nurse’s primary responsibility is to manage the care environment and patient flow within their specific unit. Other teams or personnel would likely handle tasks like reporting to the command center.