How this exercise works
Read the clinical scenario and choose the first nursing action. Use ABC order — airway and breathing emergencies before circulation issues, then less urgent needs.
Fundamental concept
Selecting the first nursing action by addressing airway, breathing, and circulation threats before lesser urgent needs.
Read: ABC Prioritization for NCLEX-PN →Scenario
A client with heart failure returns from the bathroom pale, diaphoretic, and gasping. You hear coarse crackles bilaterally, SpO₂ is 84% on 2 L nasal cannula, and the client says, "I cannot catch my breath."
A client with heart failure returns from the bathroom pale, diaphoretic, and gasping. You hear coarse crackles bilaterally, SpO₂ is 84% on 2 L nasal cannula, and the client says, "I cannot catch my breath."
What is the priority nursing action?
