A community health nurse receives a referral for a family home visit. Which of the following tasks should the nurse perform first?

Rationale:

A. Maintain sensory stimulation for the client: While in restraints, minimizing overstimulation is important to reduce agitation and prevent further aggressive behavior. Excessive sensory input can increase stress and escalate the situation rather than support safety.

B. Identify stressors that caused the client's aggression: Understanding triggers is important for long-term behavior management, but it is not the priority while the client is physically restrained. Immediate safety and monitoring take precedence over retrospective analysis.

C. Observe the client's range of movement: Continuous monitoring of the client’s range of motion is essential while restraints are in place to prevent injury, nerve damage, or impaired circulation. Regular checks ensure the restraints are applied safely and that the client maintains mobility as much as possible within safety limits.

D. Hold a critical incident debriefing about the client: Debriefing is important for staff learning and emotional processing after the event, but it occurs after the client is safe and restraints are removed. It is not an action to be performed while the client is restrained.

Rationale:

A. Assign the AP to ask the client if she has taken her antidiabetic medication today: Asking about medication adherence is part of assessment and requires clinical judgment. Delegating this task to an AP is inappropriate because it involves interpreting client responses and making clinical decisions.

B. Determine if the AP has the skills to perform the test: Before delegating any task, the nurse must verify that the AP is competent and trained to perform the procedure safely. Ensuring skill competency protects the client from harm and aligns with the nurse’s responsibility for delegation.

C. Have the AP check the medical record for prior blood glucose test results: Reviewing medical records and interpreting trends involves clinical judgment and falls outside the typical scope of practice for an AP. This task should remain with the licensed nurse.

D. Help the AP perform the blood glucose test: Assisting the AP is not necessary if the AP is competent and has been properly trained. The nurse’s role is to delegate appropriately, supervise as needed, and ensure safe completion, rather than performing the task alongside the AP.