Health Medical Homework Help

I’m working on a Nursing exercise and need support.

Critical thinking is required in most health care situations. Uncomfortable or difficult decisions that are made about a patient’s care likely involves critical thinking skills.

Using your critical thinking and problem solving skills gained from the PowerPoint on critical thinking, analyze and solve the below patient care situation.

You are taking a history from a female patient who has been sent to your department for a pelvis x-ray, and one of the first things you ask is whether she is pregnant. The patient states she is sure she is not pregnant but does not remember the date of her last menstrual period, then finally states, “No, there is no chance I’m pregnant – it really doesn’t have anything to do with my treatment, right?”

Do you take the patient at her word? Does her answer draw a red flag? Objectively examine all aspects of the problem. What implications might arise if you continue with treatment as scheduled and you find out later that the patient actually is pregnant? What risks would you take by administering treatment without knowing for sure? Can you be held liable for any damage caused? After all, the patient denied that she was pregnant when initially asked.