The nursing assistant should assist the patient with morning care as needed, but the goal is to keep this patient as independent and mobile as possible.

Option A: Assisting the patient to ambulate prevents incidences of fall and injury.
Option B: Reminding the patient not to look at his feet while walking maintains the client’s independence while keeping him safe.
Option D: Encouraging the patient to feed himself is an appropriate goal of maintaining independence.

Exercises are used to strengthen the back, relieve pressure on compressed nerves and protect the back from re-injury. Doing exercises to strengthen the lower back can help alleviate and prevent lower back pain. It can also strengthen the core, leg, and arm muscles. According to researchers, exercise also increases blood flow to the lower back area, which may reduce stiffness and speed up the healing process.

Option B: Ice and heat application are appropriate interventions for back pain. Applying ice or a reusable gel pack constricts blood vessels and reduces swelling around the injury. This is particularly useful for conditions, like a sprained ankle, that cause significant swelling. Heat has the opposite effect, increasing blood flow to the area. This relaxes muscle fibers, which can help when the client experiences spasms or stiffness.
Option C: People with chronic back pain should avoid wearing high-heeled shoes at all times. The normal s-curve of the spine acts as a cushion or spring, reducing stress on the vertebrae. When wearing high heels, the shape of the spine is altered and the client doesn’t get that same shock absorption as she walks, which, over time, can lead to uneven wear on the cartilage discs, joints and ligaments of the back.
Option D: A firm mattress prevents lower back pain. Sleeping on a mattress that is too firm can cause aches and pains on pressure points. A medium-firm mattress may be more comfortable because it allows the shoulder and hips to sink in slightly. Patients who want a firmer mattress for back support can get one with thicker padding for greater comfort.

These signs and symptoms are characteristic of autonomic dysreflexia, a neurologic emergency that must be promptly treated to prevent a hypertensive stroke. The cause of this syndrome is noxious stimuli, most often a distended bladder or constipation, so checking for poor catheter drainage, bladder distention, or fecal impaction is the first action that should be taken.

Option C: Adjusting the room temperature may be helpful, since too cool a temperature in the room may contribute to the problem.
Option A: Tylenol will not decrease the autonomic dysreflexia that is causing the patient’s headache.
Option D: Notification of the physician may be necessary if nursing actions do not resolve symptoms.

The new graduate RN who is oriented to the unit should be assigned stable, non-complex patients, such as the patient with stroke.

Option A: The newly admitted SCI should be assigned to experienced nurses. Most cases of SCI take place when trauma breaks and squeezes the vertebrae, or the bones of the back. This, in turn, damages the axons—the long nerve cell “wires” that pass through vertebrae, carrying signals between the brain and the rest of the body. The axons might be crushed or completely severed by this damage. Someone with injury to only a few axons might be able to recover completely from their injury. On the other hand, a person with damage to all axons will most likely be paralyzed in the areas below the injury.
Option C: A patient for transfer should be assigned to a nurse who has experience in the process of transferring patients.
Option D: The patient with Parkinson’s disease needs assistance with bathing, which is best delegated to the nursing assistant.

The first priority for the patient with an SCI is assessing respiratory patterns and ensuring an adequate airway. The patient with a high cervical injury is at risk for respiratory compromise because the spinal nerves (C3 – 5) innervate the phrenic nerve, which controls the diaphragm.

Option A: Determining this data can be done after addressing the concerns on the respiratory status of the patient.
Option B: This data can be assessed after monitoring the respiratory effort and oxygen saturation level of the patient.
Option C: Vital signs checking is also necessary, but not as high priority. Vital signs can be quite abnormal following SCI. In addition to the usual causes in trauma such as pain, bleeding, and distress, this can be due to loss of autonomic control, which occurs particularly in cervical or high thoracic injuries. The autonomic nervous system controls our HR, BP temperature, etc. Autonomic instability is most acute in the first few days to weeks of the injury.