A client with a full-thickness burn to the lower extremity is stable and receiving ongoing care.
Which task is appropriate for the nurse to delegate to the unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP)?

End-of-life care involves applying principles of bereavement support and cultural sensitivity. Knowledge of post-mortem care and therapeutic communication is necessary. Providing a respectful environment for the family to process their loss is a core nursing responsibility in the hospice setting.

Choice A rationale

. Dismissing visitors due to being busy violates the core tenets of hospice care and bereavement support. The needs of the family are a priority following the death of a patient. Nurses must manage time to allow for family grieving and closure.

Choice B rationale

. Allowing the family to view the body in the room provides a private, familiar, and dignified setting for saying goodbye. This action supports the grieving process and is a standard of care. The room should be prepared to appear peaceful.

Choice C rationale

. Moving the body to the morgue before the family arrives is impersonal and can be distressing. The clinical environment of a morgue is not conducive to healthy grieving. Most facilities allow a period of viewing in the room first.

Choice D rationale

. Telling the family not to come is ethically inappropriate and emotionally harmful. Family presence at the time of death or shortly after is a critical component of the mourning process. Hospice philosophy emphasizes support for the entire family unit..

Postoperative care for cardiac surgery requires balancing pain management with respiratory function. Knowledge of pulmonary mechanics and the risks of atelectasis is necessary to identify how analgesia facilitates deep breathing and coughing to prevent pneumonia and improve oxygenation.

Choice A rationale

Opioids can cause vasodilation and subsequent hypotension, but reducing blood pressure is not the therapeutic goal of analgesia in this context. While beneficial for cardiac workload, it is not the most critical recovery factor here.

Choice B rationale

Anxiety reduction is a secondary benefit of pain control that improves patient comfort. However, physiological stabilization and the prevention of respiratory complications take precedence over psychological comfort in the immediate postoperative phase after a bypass.

Choice C rationale

Postoperative pain causes guarded, shallow respirations, increasing the risk of lung collapse. Effective analgesia allows the client to perform deep breathing and incentive spirometry, which are vital for maintaining alveolar expansion and preventing secondary infections.

Choice D rationale

Sleep is necessary for cellular repair and overall recovery. While opioids help a patient rest, the primary physiological priority for a bypass patient is maintaining adequate gas exchange through effective ventilation, which requires active respiratory effort.