Question

The nurse discovers a patient care assistant looking through the client's belongings while the client is out of the room. Which action should be taken by the nurse?

Discuss the nursing assistant's behavior with the family.
Report the incident to the charge nurse.
Monitor the situation and note whether any items are missing.
Ignore the situation until items are reported missing.

Answer 1

The nurse should report the incident to the charge nurse.

Step-by-step explanation:

The nurse should report the incident to the charge nurse. This behavior is a violation of patient privacy and trust, and it is important for the nurse to take appropriate action to address it. Reporting the incident to the charge nurse allows for proper documentation and investigation to take place.

Discussing the nursing assistant's behavior with the family may not be the appropriate action at this stage, as it could potentially cause distress and confusion to the family. Monitoring the situation and noting whether any items are missing is not enough, as it does not address the breach of trust that occurred. Ignoring the situation until items are reported missing is also not recommended, as it does not address the inappropriate behavior.