A newly hired unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) is assigned to a home healthcare team along with two experienced UAPs.
Which intervention should the home health nurse implement to ensure adequate care for all clients?

Choice A rationale:

Procuring platelet products from the blood bank is a task that should be performed by a licensed nurse, not an unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP). It involves assessing the client's needs, verifying orders, and administering the product, which require nursing judgment and skills.

Choice B rationale:

Titrating oxygen to prescribed parameters is a nursing task that requires clinical judgment, especially if the client's condition changes. UAPs do not have the training or scope of practice to adjust oxygen levels. This task should be assigned to a licensed nurse.

Choice D rationale:

Inserting a urinary catheter, even for an uncomplicated client, is a task that should be performed by a licensed nurse. It involves the potential risk of infection and injury, and it requires sterile technique and assessment of the client's condition. UAPs do not have the training or scope of practice to insert urinary catheters.

Choice A rationale:

Supplemental oxygen is given to the patient to prevent hypoxia and tissue damage due to pneumonia. Pneumonia is an infection that inflames the air sacs in one or both lungs, which may fill with fluid or pus, causing cough with phlegm or pus, fever, chills, and difficulty breathing. Hypoxia occurs when the body or a region of the body is deprived of adequate oxygen supply at the tissue level. It can cause serious damage to your heart, brain, and other organs. Hence, supplemental oxygen is administered to ensure that the patient’s tissues receive adequate oxygen.

Choice B rationale:

While supplemental oxygen can indirectly help lower blood pressure by improving oxygen supply and reducing strain on the heart, it is not primarily used for this purpose. Enalapril, which the patient is already taking, is an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor that is commonly used to lower blood pressure and reduce the workload of the heart.

Choice C rationale:

Supplemental oxygen does increase the oxygen saturation and improve respiratory function. However, this is a more general rationale for providing supplemental oxygen and not specific to this patient’s condition of pneumonia.

Choice D rationale:

Supplemental oxygen does not directly dilate the bronchioles or decrease inflammation in the lungs. Medications such as bronchodilators and corticosteroids are typically used for these purposes. In this case, supplemental oxygen is being used to prevent hypoxia and tissue damage due to pneumonia.