Final answer:
The nurse should assess the child's skin integrity at the traction pin sites, as this is essential for preventing infection and ensuring proper healing. Encouraging ambulation, removing the weights, or elevating the leg above heart level are not appropriate actions for a child in Buck's traction.
Step-by-step explanation:
When caring for a school-age child who is in Buck's traction following a leg fracture 24 hours ago, the nurse should not encourage the child to ambulate. Instead, the priority is to maintain the efficacy of the traction and prevent complications. The correct action for the nurse to take would be to assess the child's skin integrity at the traction pin sites to ensure there are no signs of infection or pressure ulcers. It is essential to monitor the condition of the skin, particularly where the pins enter the leg, because any compromise to skin integrity can lead to significant problems such as infection.
Removing the weights from the traction or elevating the child's affected leg above the heart level without specific orders would interfere with the prescribed traction therapy and could cause harm. Traction weights must be used as prescribed by the physician and should not be altered without medical advice. The elevation of the extremity in Buck's traction is typically managed by the setup of the bed and traction equipment and does not require manual adjustment by the nurse unless specified.