A nurse is caring for client who is taking lisinopril (ACE inhibitor). Which of the following outcomes indicates a therapeutic effect of the medication?

A) Assessment:
Assessment involves gathering and analyzing data about the client’s health status and needs. While gathering information from the social worker and physical therapist may be part of the assessment process, the actual collaborative work in preparing the discharge plan is more aligned with the planning phase of the nursing process.

B) Planning:
Planning is the correct answer because it involves formulating goals, interventions, and expected outcomes for the client’s care, including discharge projections. In this case, the nurse, social worker, and physical therapist are working together to develop a comprehensive discharge plan tailored to the client’s needs, which is a key part of the planning phase.

C) Evaluation:
Evaluation occurs after interventions are implemented to assess whether the goals have been met and the outcomes achieved. Since the nurse is still in the process of preparing the discharge plan, evaluation has not yet occurred.

D) Analysis:
Analysis is the process of interpreting assessment data to identify problems or needs. While analysis is part of the assessment phase, it does not describe the collaborative action of creating a discharge plan, which is clearly a planning task.

A) Assist the client into a standing position:
While assisting the client into a standing position is necessary for assessing orthostatic hypotension, it should not be the first action. The nurse needs baseline measurements of the client's blood pressure before making any position changes. This ensures that the changes in blood pressure can be accurately attributed to the positional changes, rather than being affected by the initial standing position.

B) Check the blood pressure with the client in a supine position:
The first step in assessing for orthostatic hypotension is to take a baseline blood pressure while the client is lying flat in the supine position. This provides a reference point for comparison when the client changes positions (to sitting and then standing). This helps to detect significant drops in blood pressure when transitioning to an upright position.

C) Determine the client's blood pressure 1 minute after each position change:
While it is important to measure blood pressure after each position change, this action should occur after baseline blood pressure has been taken while the client is in the supine position. Orthostatic hypotension is assessed by measuring blood pressure in three positions: supine, sitting, and standing.

D) Place the client in a sitting position:
Placing the client in a sitting position is a necessary part of the orthostatic hypotension assessment, but it is not the first step. The nurse must first measure the blood pressure while the client is lying down (supine) to establish a baseline for comparison with the blood pressure readings taken after sitting and standing.