A nurse is planning to provide postmortem care for a client who requires an autopsy. Which of the following actions should the nurse plan to take?
A.
Ask the assist personnel to document the client’s time of death.
B.
Place an identification tag on the outside of the client’s shroud.
C.
Wear sterile gloves when cleaning the client’s body.
D.
Remove the client’s dentures and give them to the client’s family.
The correct answer and Explanation is :
The correct answer is B. Place an identification tag on the outside of the client’s shroud.
Explanation:
Postmortem care involves several important steps, especially when an autopsy is required. Here’s why placing an identification tag on the outside of the client’s shroud is the appropriate action:
- Identification and Legal Requirements: When an autopsy is performed, it is crucial to ensure that the body is correctly identified. An identification tag on the outside of the shroud helps maintain the correct identity of the deceased and prevents mix-ups. This step is a critical part of the process to ensure proper handling and identification, especially in facilities where multiple bodies might be processed.
- Respect and Dignity: Proper postmortem care respects the deceased by ensuring that they are handled with dignity and that their identity is preserved throughout the process. An identification tag helps facilitate a smooth transition of care from the nursing staff to the pathologists or other personnel involved in the autopsy.
- Avoiding Errors: Clear identification helps in preventing errors in the autopsy process. Without proper identification, there is a risk of misidentification, which could lead to incorrect findings or conclusions, and potential issues in legal or medical documentation.
Why the Other Options Are Less Appropriate:
- A. Ask the assist personnel to document the client’s time of death: This step is not directly related to the postmortem care process itself. Time of death documentation is typically handled by the attending physician or medical examiner and is not part of the immediate postmortem care responsibilities of the nurse.
- C. Wear sterile gloves when cleaning the client’s body: While wearing gloves is important for infection control, cleaning the body is not usually a part of postmortem care if an autopsy is required. The body is often moved to a morgue or autopsy room where additional handling and cleaning are managed.
- D. Remove the client’s dentures and give them to the client’s family: Dentures are generally not removed during postmortem care for autopsy purposes unless specifically required for the procedure. Removing dentures is not a standard practice for postmortem care unless directed otherwise, and they are typically not given to the family in this context. They are often left in place to maintain the appearance of the body or removed by the pathologist if needed for the autopsy.
In summary, placing an identification tag on the shroud is a crucial step to ensure accurate identification and respectful handling of the deceased in preparation for an autopsy.