A patient is hungry; he/she suddenly falls down on the floor, what would be the first action of the Nursing officer upon this situation?

Appeared in: Combined AIIMS - 2020 (Jodhpur, Bhopal, Patna, Raipur)

Explanation

When a patient collapses, the immediate priority is to assess for life-threatening conditions like cardiac arrest.
Checking for pulse and breathing is a critical component of the primary survey (Circulation and Breathing of ABCs).
This assessment determines the need for immediate cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
The history of being 'hungry' suggests potential hypoglycemia, but this is a secondary consideration after ensuring the patient is not in cardiac arrest.

Option B: Delaying assessment and intervention in an unconscious patient can be fatal. The patient may be in cardiac arrest, and waiting for them to regain consciousness without providing aid will lead to irreversible brain damage or death.
Option C: This is incorrect and constitutes professional negligence. A nursing officer has a duty to act and provide care in an emergency situation.
Option D: This is incorrect because checking for pulse and breathing is a standard, critical, and appropriate first action in the assessment of a collapsed individual.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: Use the key finding related to Basic Life Support (BLS) and initial assessment of an unconscious patient to guide bedside assessment, documentation, and the next nursing action.
Immediate and accurate assessment of a collapsed patient is a fundamental nursing skill. The 'time is brain and heart' principle applies; delays in starting CPR for a patient in cardiac arrest drastically reduce survival rates.
What if? If the patient had fallen but was conscious and able to speak, though confused and sweaty, the nurse's priority would shift. While still performing a rapid assessment of vital signs, the history of 'hunger' would make checking the blood glucose level a top priority to rule out severe hypoglycemia.

How to Approach the Question

This is a priority-based question asking for the 'first action'.
First, analyze the situation: a patient has suddenly collapsed. This is an emergency.
Recall the standard protocol for emergencies, which is Basic Life Support (BLS).
The BLS sequence is: ensure safety, check for response, call for help, and then check Airway, Breathing, and Circulation (ABCs).
Evaluate the given options against the BLS protocol. 'Check for pulse and breathing' directly corresponds to assessing 'C' and 'B' of the ABCs.
Eliminate options that cause delay (waiting), are negligent (doing nothing), or are illogical. The most critical immediate assessment step provided is the correct answer.

Concept Tested & Keywords

Concept Tested: Basic Life Support (BLS) and initial assessment of an unconscious patient.
Stem keywords: patient, suddenly falls down, first action
Lead-in keywords: first action
Clinical cues: suddenly falls down: Indicates a potential medical emergency requiring immediate assessment.
Clinical cues: hungry: This could be a clue for hypoglycemia, but collapse requires ruling out life-threatening conditions first.

Q3skgYLKy0ZctamXYIM_jn

E6 Comprehensive Textbook of Community Health Nursing for BSc Nursing Students Part 2 — Subpart A (pp 1-275 of 550) p. 180-182

Practise the full Combined AIIMS - 2020 (Jodhpur, Bhopal, Patna, Raipur)

Attempt every question from this paper in a timed mock, then review the full solution for each one.