A nurse is assessing a 2-year-old toddler. Which of the following findings should the nurse expect?

A. Correct. Measuring gastric residual volumes every 4 hours is important to assess gastric emptying and to determine if the client can tolerate the feedings. If residuals are high, it may indicate delayed gastric emptying and the need to adjust the feeding rate.

B. Incorrect. While flushing the NG tube before and after medications is important to maintain patency, it is typically done with sterile water, not sodium chloride, unless otherwise specified by a protocol. Therefore, this statement may not be fully accurate.

C. Incorrect. The head of the bed should be elevated to a 30-45° angle to help prevent aspiration during enteral feedings.

D. Incorrect. The rate of the feeding should be advanced gradually to prevent overloading the client's gastrointestinal tract. This does not involve advancing the rate every 2 hours.

Answer:

1. Review the skill level and qualifications of each AP.

2. Communicate appropriate tasks to the APs with specific expectations.

3. Monitor progress of task completion with each AP.

4. Evaluate the APs' performance of each task.

Explanation:

1. Review the skill level and qualifications of each AP: Before delegating tasks to the assistive personnel (APs), the nurse should assess their individual skills, training, and qualifications to determine their capabilities. This step ensures that tasks are assigned to the APs who are competent and trained to perform them safely and effectively.

2. Communicate appropriate tasks to the APs with specific expectations: The nurse should clearly communicate the tasks to be delegated to the APs, providing specific instructions and expectations regarding how each task should be performed. This step helps prevent misunderstandings and ensures that the APs understand what is expected of them.

3. Monitor progress of task completion with each AP: Once tasks are assigned, the nurse should periodically check on the progress of each AP in completing their assigned tasks. Monitoring helps the nurse ensure that tasks are being performed correctly and in a timely manner.

4. Evaluate the APs' performance of each task: After the tasks are completed, the nurse should evaluate the performance of each AP. This evaluation involves assessing whether the tasks were performed according to the specific expectations communicated earlier and whether there were any issues or deviations during task completion. The evaluation helps identify areas for improvement and provides feedback for the APs to enhance their skills and performance.