A nurse is making assignments for staff on an inpatient unit. Which of the following tasks can a nurse legally delegate to assistive personnel?

Choice A reason: Using a cane provides stability and reduces fall risk for clients with multiple sclerosis, who often experience muscle weakness or balance issues. This assistive device promotes safe mobility, aligning with evidence-based safety strategies, making it the correct precaution for home care.
Choice B reason: Walking with feet close together decreases stability, increasing fall risk in multiple sclerosis due to impaired coordination. A wider stance is recommended for balance, making this precaution incorrect and potentially dangerous for the client’s safety.
Choice C reason: Avoiding orthotics is not advisable, as they can support mobility and prevent foot drop in multiple sclerosis. Orthotics improve safety and function, so discouraging their use is counterproductive, making this an incorrect recommendation for home safety.
Choice D reason: A rigorous range-of-motion exercise plan may cause fatigue or injury in multiple sclerosis, where moderated exercise is preferred. Overexertion exacerbates symptoms, so this plan is unsafe and inappropriate, making it incorrect for promoting client safety.

Choice A reason: Assuring the client about future pregnancies dismisses her current emotional loss, potentially invalidating grief. Stillbirth triggers complex hormonal and psychological responses, including postpartum depression risk. This approach fails to address immediate emotional needs, hindering the grieving process and emotional recovery in perinatal loss.
Choice B reason: Avoiding discussion of the newborn ignores the client’s need to process her loss. Acknowledging the baby’s existence is critical for healthy mourning, as psychological research shows verbalizing grief aids emotional integration. Silence may suppress coping, prolonging unresolved grief and complicating psychological adjustment post-stillbirth.
Choice C reason: Discouraging friends from seeing the newborn dismisses the client’s need for social support. Communal acknowledgment of loss mitigates isolation, a key factor in grief recovery. This action disrupts psychological coping by limiting social validation, potentially exacerbating feelings of loneliness and hindering emotional healing after stillbirth.
Choice D reason: Offering to take pictures acknowledges the baby’s significance, aiding the client’s grieving process. Photographs serve as tangible memories, supported by psychological research as therapeutic in perinatal loss. This intervention fosters emotional closure, validates the loss, and supports healthy mourning, aligning with compassionate care principles.