Question

A client who is 24 hours post-op following abdominal surgery refuses to ambulate. First nursing action?

A. Call the healthcare provider for further orders.
B. Document the client's refusal in the medical record.
C. Encourage the client to ambulate later in the day.
D. Assess the client's pain and address any concerns.

Answer 1

In response to a post-op patient refusing to ambulate, the first nursing action is to assess the patient's pain and address any concerns, as pain might be the barrier to ambulation.

Step-by-step explanation:

The subject of the question is a health-related scenario often encountered by nursing professionals. When a client who is 24 hours post-operative following abdominal surgery refuses to ambulate, the first nursing action should be D. Assess the client's pain and address any concerns. This is because the refusal to ambulate might be due to pain or discomfort which is a common issue after surgery. Addressing the patient's pain can aid in identifying the barriers to ambulation and subsequently encourage the patient to participate in their recovery process. By assessing the patient's pain, the nurse can determine if pain management interventions are needed before attempting to ambulate the patient again.