An 84-year-old man has arthritis and is admitted for a severely edematous knee. The physician orders heat packs every 2 hours and you feel this order may worsen the tissue congestion. An appropriate nursing action would be:

A patient arrives at the emergency department with slurred speech and a right facial droop. The patient's relative states the patient "is not himself." Upon assessment, the nurse finds paresthesia to the right side of the body, receptive aphasia, hemianopia and altered cognitive abilities. The nurse should suspect:

What two behaviors are important when documenting the depth of the patient's depression?

The nurse teaches a patient recovering from a total hip replacement that it is important to avoid:

After application of a cast in the upper extremity, the patient complains of severe pain in the affected site. Which of the following would the nurse initiate?