A nurse working in the PACU (post-anesthesia care unit)/recovery room unit is monitoring a patient whose vital signs were stable upon arrival from the operating room. The patient’s temperature began to rise steadily the past 20 minutes and continues to rise, the heart monitor shows sinus tachycardia with a rate of 122, the patient’s blood pressure is 86/42, and pulse ox is 88% on 2 L O2 via nasal cannula.
The nurse suspects which genetic condition?

This statement indicates an understanding of the ethical principle of respect for autonomy, which means that the nurse respects the client’s right to make their own decisions about their care and respects their values and beliefs.

Choice A is wrong because “A nurse’s personal values are not considered when making ethical decisions.” This statement contradicts the ethical principle of integrity, which means that the nurse acts in accordance with their personal and professional values and standards.

Choice B is wrong because “A nurse’s behaviors and actions are called values.” This statement confuses values with morals, which are the judgments about behaviors and actions based on personal or societal beliefs.

Choice D is wrong because “Value clarification involves maintaining clinical competency.” This statement confuses value clarification with professionalism, which involves maintaining clinical competency, accountability, and responsibility. Value clarification is a process of self-exploration and reflection that helps the nurse identify their own values and understand how they affect their ethical decisions.

One of the highest levels of evidence are randomized, controlled, double-blind studies. This is because these studies reduce the risk of bias and confounding factors by randomly assigning participants to intervention or control groups, blinding the participants and researchers to the group allocation, and using a placebo or standard treatment as a comparison.

Choice B is wrong because ideas, editorials, and opinions are considered low levels of evidence as they are based on personal views and not on rigorous research methods.

Choice C is wrong because the purpose of the hierarchy of evidence is to help the nurse evaluate the quality and strength of the research findings, not to compare patient values with research findings.

Patient values are important for evidence-based practice, but they are not part of the hierarchy of evidence.

Choice D is wrong because all forms of evidence should not be considered equally when determining evidence-based practice. The hierarchy of evidence ranks different types of research designs according to their validity and applicability, and the nurse should use the highest level of evidence available for their clinical question.