While Providing Care for an Elderly Patient, a Nurse Learns

While providing care for an elderly patient, a nurse learns that the patient has had only small, watery stools for several days. The nurse understands that the first priority in providing care for this patient is to

A) Assess the patient for an impaction.
B) Call the primary care physician and get an order for a laxative.
C) Administer medication to slow the diarrhea.
D) Collect a stool specimen for analysis.