Final answer:
The nurse should assess for impaired proprioception in a client who had a stroke in the right cerebral hemisphere, as it is responsible for spatial awareness and proprioceptive abilities.
Step-by-step explanation:
The nurse assessing a client who had a stroke in the right cerebral hemisphere should assess for impaired proprioception. This is because the right hemisphere is mainly responsible for spatial awareness and proprioception – the sense that allows us to perceive the position and movement of our own body parts without visual aid. Strokes affecting the right hemisphere can lead to neglect or reduced awareness of the left side of the body. In contrast, aphasia (loss of language abilities) and agraphia (the inability to write) are commonly associated with left hemisphere damage, where the language centers such as Broca's or Wernicke's areas are located. Impaired olfaction (loss of the sense of smell) is not typically linked to hemispheric strokes unless the stroke impacts the brain areas specifically involved in the sense of smell.