The patient's meal has been delivered, the nurse checks the patient's pre-meal blood sugar, and the result is 243 mg/dL. The patient is awake, alert, hungry, and able to swallow.
The next step the nurse should take is:

Choice A rationale

Assisting the patient to the bathroom is within the scope of practice for a Nursing Aide (NA) and does not require advanced training, making it an appropriate task to delegate while ensuring patient needs are met.

Choice B rationale

Teaching weight-bearing precautions involves patient education, which is the responsibility of the Registered Nurse (RN) due to the need for professional judgment and instruction clarity.

Choice C rationale

Pain level assessment requires critical thinking and professional judgment, which are within the RN’s scope of practice. This cannot be delegated to an NA.

Choice D rationale

Instruction on incentive spirometer use requires understanding of therapeutic goals, patient capability, and respiratory assessment, tasks specific to the RN and beyond the scope of an NA.

Choice A rationale

X-rays are commonly used to diagnose osteoarthritis as they effectively visualize joint space narrowing, osteophyte formation, and subchondral sclerosis, which are characteristic of OA. These imaging findings assist in confirming the diagnosis and assessing disease progression.

Choice B rationale

Lithography is not a diagnostic tool used for OA. It primarily refers to a printing method and has no relevance to imaging joints affected by osteoarthritis or diagnosing the condition scientifically.

Choice C rationale

Ultrasound can visualize soft tissues but is not routinely used for OA diagnosis. It does not provide the detailed assessment of joint degeneration seen in X-rays, making it less appropriate for identifying OA-related changes.

Choice D rationale

Echocardiograms are used to assess heart function and have no application in diagnosing osteoarthritis. They are irrelevant in imaging joint structures or evaluating degenerative joint diseases scientifically. .