Practice Question
The nurse cares for multiple neonates in the normal newborn nursery. Which tasks are appropriate for the nurse to delegate to the unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP)? Select all that apply.
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Correct Answer:
Provide a tub bath for a newborn while the parents rest after a long labor and delivery.
Rationale:
Provide a tub bath for a newborn while the parents rest after a long labor and delivery.
🔷Providing a newborn tub bath is a routine, non-invasive hygiene task that falls within UAP competencies and does not require nursing judgment when the infant is stable.
🔷The RN remains accountable for assessing stability (e.g., temperature, respiratory effort, skin color) and giving clear instructions, while the UAP performs the bath using standardized procedures.
🔷Key safety elements—thermoregulation, never leaving the infant unattended, maintaining water temperature ~37–38 °C, and gentle handling around the umbilical cord—are procedural and teachable, ideal for delegation.
🔷Delegating this task supports family-centered care: parents can rest and recover while care needs are met reliably.
🔷The RN should specify when to report (e.g., shivering, color change, respiratory distress) and verify post-bath temperature, preserving the RN’s role in evaluation.
Change a neonate’s diaper, weigh the diaper, and record the output in the electronic health record.
🔷Diaper changes and diaper weights are objective, standardized tasks appropriate for UAPs because they involve measurement and documentation rather than clinical interpretation.
🔷Accurate diaper weights support neonatal fluid balance tracking; remember 1 g ≈ 1 mL for urine, making this a quantifiable activity that a UAP can reliably perform.
🔷The RN ensures the UAP uses a calibrated scale, performs tare correctly, and documents in the EHR using the correct flowsheet, preserving data integrity.
🔷This delegation helps the team detect trends related to hydration, hyperbilirubinemia risk, or renal issues, while the RN interprets those trends and initiates interventions.
🔷Clear parameters (e.g., report output under RN-specified thresholds) keep clinical decision-making with the RN and ensure timely escalation.
Collect vital signs on a 48-hour-old newborn being discharged within the next hour.
🔷Vital-sign collection on a stable, term newborn is a repeatable, skill-based task that a trained UAP can perform using standard technique (e.g., axillary temperature, counted apical HR, and RR by observation).
🔷The RN maintains responsibility for interpreting values, verifying normal ranges for age (e.g., temp, HR, RR), and confirming readiness for discharge.
🔷Delegation here improves workflow efficiency before discharge while keeping clinical judgment—trend analysis, decision to delay discharge—with the RN.
🔷The RN should instruct the UAP to immediately report any abnormalities (e.g., temp instability, tachypnea, bradycardia, desaturation if monitored) for prompt RN evaluation.
🔷Proper performance (quiet environment, counting a full minute for RR/HR, correct probe placement) ensures accuracy, allowing the RN to safely finalize discharge decisions.
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This question is from CJE PN Maternal Child Benchmark 1 2025 which contains 47 questions.
More Questions from This Exam
A school-aged child has arrived in the emergency room with complaints of lethargy, blurred vision, and headaches. A CT scan has revealed a brain tumor. The licensed practical/vocational nurse (LPN/LVN) assists the registered nurse (RN) with data collection. What data does the LPN/LVN expect to find? Select all that apply.
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A 16-year-old client has been admitted to the emergency room in sickle cell crisis. The client is in pain and crying. What additional information does the licensed practical/vocational nurse need to obtain for the registered nurse to develop a plan of care for the client? Select all that apply.
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The nurse cares for a group of newborns in the newborn nursery. Which action is most important to reduce the risk of infection?
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Question Details
- Category: LPN Nursing Exam(s)
- Subcategory: 💎Examplify-PN
- Domain: 🤱🏼Maternity & Newborn Care-PN
- Answer Choices: 5