Final answer:
The nurse's priority should be to perform a heel stick to check the infant's serum glucose levels, as the symptoms suggest possible neonatal hypoglycemia, which is both serious and treatable.
Step-by-step explanation:
Prioritizing Newborn Care
The nurse's priority action for an infant appearing jittery and exhibiting a weak, high-pitched cry thirty minutes after admission to the nursery is to perform a heel stick to check serum glucose. This symptom may indicate neonatal hypoglycemia, a common and potentially serious condition that can occur in newborns. The brain depends on glucose as its primary source of energy, and inadequate glucose levels can cause jitteriness, an abnormal cry, and other neurological signs. The heel stick is a quick and effective way to assess the infant's current blood glucose level and address any immediate need for glucose restoration to ensure homeostatic balance.
Gentle comfort measures such as holding the infant can provide immediate soothing, but they do not address the underlying potential medical issue. A feeding could also potentially help if the cause of the symptoms is low glucose, but an initial rapid glucose test is more direct and provides vital information for medical management. Ordering a drug screening is not indicated as a first-line action without other supportive history or symptoms suggesting maternal substance use, and it wouldn't provide immediate assistance for the infant's current distress. Understanding the importance of the Apgar score helps in assessing the overall well-being of the newborn and could guide further interventions. However, immediate action focused on the potential glucose imbalance takes precedence based on the presenting symptoms of jitteriness and abnormal crying shortly after birth.
Overall, the heel stick to check serum glucose is a priority due to the potential urgency and treatability of hypoglycemia in a newborn.