Question

The nurse in a community clinic is assessing a 23-year-old client who reports upper respiratory congestion and a cough that has lingered for 3 weeks. In the initial interview, the nurse learns the client's family lives out of state and that the client goes to school part-time while waiting tables part-time. What might the nurse infer from this information?

A.) The client has most likely not had a recent physical examination.
B.) The client's parents have provided healthcare up to this point.
C.) Waiting tables places the client at a higher risk for developing illnesses.
D.) The client's age indicates he or she may not be compliant.

Answer 1

The nurse may infer that the 23-year-old with a persistent cough has not had a recent physical examination, that waiting tables might increase their risk of illness due to exposure to many people, and that absence of local family could affect their healthcare support system. Option A is correct.

Step-by-step explanation:

From the information provided, the nurse might infer several things about the 23-year-old client with upper respiratory congestion and a lingering cough. Given that the client's family lives out of state and they attend school part-time while also waiting tables part-time, each aspect of their lifestyle can suggest different implications for their health.

A. The client has most likely not had a recent physical examination.

B. The client's parents have provided healthcare up to this point. This might not be a strong inference, as the client is already an adult and could be managing their healthcare independently.

C. Waiting tables places the client at a higher risk for developing illnesses. This inference is reasonable since waiting tables involves exposure to many different people, potentially increasing the risk of obtaining communicable diseases like the common cold, flu, or other respiratory infections.

D. The client's age indicates he or she may not be compliant. There is not enough information to support this claim, and making assumptions based on age can be discriminatory.

The nurse could consider potential exposure to pathogens due to the client's employment in the service industry to assess for risk of illnesses, as well as considering the possibility that they have delayed seeking healthcare due to their busy schedule or lack of local family support.