Final answer:
The nursing student should not be explaining the surgical procedure, as this is the responsibility of the surgeon. The nurse's role includes confirming patient details, ensuring proper equipment and sterility, and providing other preoperative care.
Step-by-step explanation:
The action of the nursing student that needs correction is B. Explaining the surgical procedure to the patient. It is the role of the surgeon to explain the details of the procedure to the patient. The other tasks mentioned such as asking about the patient's family history, instructing the patient to avoid eating or drinking anything 8 to 10 hours before surgery, and providing preoperative care conform to the nurse's role under the direct supervision of a registered nurse. Explaining the surgical procedure may involve discussing critical and unexpected steps, operative duration, and anticipated blood loss—aspects that are typically within the surgeon's domain of knowledge and responsibility.
In preoperative care, it is essential that the nursing staff focus on confirming the patient's identity, surgical site, and procedure, and ensuring sterility and equipment availability. Administering prophylactic antibiotics is also critical to reduce the risk of hospital-acquired infections and should be confirmed before surgery. However, instructions regarding diet, especially avoiding certain types of food like those rich in carbohydrates and fats, would usually require specific orders based on the individual patient's needs and the type of surgery being performed.