Which of the following actions should a medical assistant take when a patient is in shock?

Correct answer: B
A. Place the left electrode on the most distal portion of the left limb, and place the right electrode on the most proximal portion of the right limb: The left limb is amputated, so electrodes cannot be placed on the distal portion of the left limb; the right limb's electrode should be placed according to standard practice.
B. Place the left electrode on the most distal portion of the left limb, and place the right electrode on the right groin: For an amputation, the electrode for the absent limb can be placed on the corresponding part of the trunk (such as the groin) to obtain accurate readings.
C. Place the left electrode on the left mid thigh, and place the right electrode on the right mid thigh: With an above-the-knee amputation, placing electrodes on the mid-thigh of the amputated side is not feasible; placement should follow appropriate protocol for the missing limb.
D. Place the left electrode at the most proximal portion of the right limb, and place the right electrode at the most distal portion of the right limb: This does not accommodate for the left limb amputation and does not follow standard electrode placement practices.

A. Cleanse the site with chlorhexidine. After cleaning with isopropyl alcohol, the site should be cleansed with chlorhexidine to ensure the skin is sterile, reducing the risk of contamination in the blood culture.
B. Prepare a wet mount slide. Preparing a wet mount slide is unrelated to blood culture venipuncture and would not be the next step in this procedure.
C. Confirm the patient’s blood type. Confirming blood type is not part of the blood culture process and is not relevant at this stage.
D. Obtain the patient’s temperature. While monitoring the patient’s temperature might be necessary for diagnostic purposes, it is not the next step in performing a blood culture venipuncture.