A nurse caring for an older client in the hospital is concerned the client is not competent to give consent for upcoming surgery.What action by the nurse is best?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

In this situation,each facility will have a policy designed for assessing competence.The nurse should bring these concerns to an interdisciplinary care team meeting.There may be physiologic reasons for the client to be temporarily too confused or incompetent to give consent.If an acute condition is ruled out,the staff should follow the legal procedure and policies in their facility and state for determining competence.The key is to bring the concerns forward.Calling Adult Protective Services is not appropriate at this time.Signing the consent should wait until competence is determined unless it is an emergency,in which case the next of kin can sign if there are grave doubts as to the client's ability to provide consent.

A Nurse Caring for an Older Client in the Hospital