Practice Question
A nurse asks an assistive personnel (AP) to take a specimen to the laboratory and the AP refuses. Which of the following actions should the nurse take?
Answer Choices:
Correct Answer:
Discuss the incident with the AP.
Rationale:
💎 This response shows professional communication and leadership because the nurse first seeks to understand the reason for the AP’s refusal.
💎 Talking directly with the AP allows the nurse to assess whether the refusal is due to role confusion, workload, misunderstanding, or attitude.
💎 This approach supports conflict resolution and respects the AP as part of the healthcare team.
💎 If the nurse clarifies expectations and provides education or feedback, the AP is more likely to comply in the future.
💎 Addressing the issue at the lowest level first is consistent with effective delegation and supervisory practice.
“Report the AP to the charge nurse”
💎Reporting immediately skips the chance to resolve the issue directly with the AP.
💎Professional practice encourages nurses to first attempt direct communication and clarification before escalating.
💎Immediate reporting may create tension or resentment and does not help the AP learn or correct behavior.
💎Escalation is appropriate only if the issue continues or involves serious client safety concerns after discussion.
💎Because the nurse has not yet tried to discuss and understand the refusal, this is not the best first action.
“Complete an incident report”
💎 Incident reports are reserved for events that involve actual or potential harm, such as errors, falls, or near-misses.
💎 An AP refusing a task, by itself, is a personnel/behavior issue, not necessarily an incident requiring formal reporting.
💎 Completing an incident report without attempting direct resolution can make the response seem punitive.
💎The priority is to clarify expectations and address performance through communication and supervision.
💎This option is premature and not the most constructive first step.
“Take the specimen to the laboratory”
💎 If the nurse simply performs the task, the immediate need is met, but the underlying behavior is not addressed.
💎 This can reinforce a pattern where the AP feels they can refuse appropriate tasks without consequence or discussion.
💎 It also undermines effective delegation, potentially increasing the nurse’s workload and burnout risk.
💎 Professional responsibility includes ensuring that team members fulfill their duties and understand assigned roles.
💎 Therefore, while the specimen reaches the lab, the professional issue remains unresolved, making this an incomplete response.
Want to practice more questions like this?
This question is from Custom Fundamentals Exam 4 Fall 2025 which contains 24 questions.
More Questions from This Exam
A nurse is obtaining a urine specimen for culture and sensitivity via a straight catheterization. Which of the following actions should the nurse take?
Answer Choices:
A nurse is reinforcing teaching with a client about the oliguric phase of acute kidney injury. Which of the following information should the nurse include in the teaching?
Answer Choices:
A nurse is caring for a client who reports constipation. The provider has prescribed an enema. Identify the sequence of steps the nurse should take to administer the enema. (Move the steps into the box on the right, placing them in the selected order of performance. Use all the steps.)
Answer Choices:
A nurse is assisting with the care of a client who has a new colostomy and states they are not ready to look at the stoma. The nurse encourages the client to share their feelings about the colostomy. Which of the following strategies is the nurse utilizing?
Answer Choices:
Question Details
- Category: RN Nursing Exam(s)
- Subcategory: ATI Exam(s)
- Domain: RN ATI Fundamentals of Nursing
- Answer Choices: 4