Question

The nurse is caring for a patient who has an order to change a dressing twice a day, at 0600 and 1800. At 1400, the nurse notices that the dressing is saturated. What is the nurse's next

action?
a. Wait and change the dressing at 1800 as ordered.
b. Revise the plan of care and change the dressing now.
c. Reassess the dressing and the wound in 1 hour.
d. Discontinue the plan of care

Answer 1

When a nurse notices a saturated dressing before the scheduled change, they should change the dressing immediately to avoid infection, document the condition and report to the healthcare provider.

Step-by-step explanation:

If a nurse observes that a patient's dressing is saturated before the scheduled time for a dressing change, the appropriate action would be to assess the situation. Given that saturated dressings can be a source of infection and may compromise wound healing, it would be within the scope of nursing practice to change the dressing immediately. Following this, the nurse should document the change and the condition of the wound, and report this change to the healthcare provider to see if the plan of care needs to be revised.