Question

A nurse is preparing to assess a client who received hemodialysis 1 hr ago. Which of the following assessments should the nurse perform first?

A) Potassium level
B) Body weight
C) Creatinine level
D) Vital signs

Answer 1

A nurse should first perform a vital signs check on a client who received hemodialysis to ensure immediate physiological stability, as it is the priority over potassium, body weight, and creatinine level assessments.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student is inquiring about the initial post-hemodialysis assessment that a nurse should perform for a patient. After hemodialysis, vital signs should be checked first because they are the primary indicators of a patient's immediate physiological stability. It is crucial to monitor for potential complications like hypotension, hypertension, and changes in heart rate that could indicate bleeding, infection, or vascular instability after the procedure.

While monitoring potassium levels, body weight, and creatinine levels is also important in assessing the efficacy of the dialysis treatment, these do not take precedence over the initial vital signs check. The correction of fluid and electrolyte imbalances is indeed a key element of hemodialysis, but the immediate post-treatment period requires ensuring the patient's basic life-supporting parameters are stable, hence the significance of usually assessing vital signs first.