A nurse is coordinating the care of a group of clients with an assistive personnel (AP). Which of the following tasks should the nurse not assign to the AP?

Correct answer: C

A. A client who has a venous stasis ulcer: This is less likely to cause a false positive result. While ulcers can bleed, the fecal occult blood test is designed to detect small amounts of blood in the stool, not necessarily blood from other sources like venous stasis ulcers.

B. A client who has peripheral hematomas: Peripheral hematomas are typically not related to the fecal occult blood test. They generally wouldn’t affect the results unless there was significant bleeding or if the hematomas were a result of an underlying bleeding disorder.

C. A client who underwent a barium swallow study: This is the most likely to cause a false positive result. Barium used in the study can sometimes appear as a false positive on the test due to its interference with the chemical reactions used to detect blood.

D. A client who takes an iron supplement: Iron supplements can actually cause a false negative result rather than a false positive because they may darken the stool and mask the presence of blood.

- When coordinating the care of a group of clients with assistive personnel (AP), it's important to delegate tasks appropriately based on the AP's scope of practice and training. Here are the tasks that can be assigned to the AP:

Measure the intake and output of a client who has received furosemide: This task involves recording fluid intake and output, which is typically within the scope of practice for an AP, as long as they have been trained in the proper procedure and documentation.

Check a client’s peripheral IV site for redness or swelling: This task involves basic assessment and can be assigned to an AP, as long as they are familiar with the signs of potential complications related to IV sites and have been trained in the facility's protocol for reporting any issues.

Reinforcing teaching with a client about crutch-gait walking: Education and reinforcement of information provided by healthcare professionals can often be delegated to APs, especially if they have received training on the specific topic. However, it's important to ensure that the AP is knowledgeable about crutch-gait walking and the information they are reinforcing.

The task related to assessing pain (e.g., assessing the pain level of a client who has received acetaminophen) should generally be performed by a licensed healthcare provider, such as a nurse. Assessment of pain requires a deeper understanding of the client's pain experience and may involve making clinical decisions related to pain management.