A charge nurse delegates to an assistive personnel (AP) the task of ambulating a client. At the end of the shift, the nurse discovers the client has not been ambulated. Which of the following actions should the nurse take first?

A. Ambulating the client on behalf of the assistive personnel (AP) is not the first action because it addresses the missed task but does not determine the cause of the failure or whether there is a safety, staffing, or communication issue. The nurse must first assess the situation before taking corrective action. B. Supervising the AP performing the task may be appropriate in the future to ensure task completion, but it is not the immediate priority. The nurse must first determine why the task was not completed before deciding on supervision or re-delegation strategies. C. Reminding the AP of their assigned tasks may be necessary for future improvement, but it does not address the current situation or identify the reason the task was not completed. It is a corrective action rather than the priority first step. D. Evaluating why the client was not ambulated is the first action because it reflects the nursing process (assessment first). The nurse must determine whether the omission was due to patient refusal, change in condition, staffing issues, misunderstanding of instructions, or other safety concerns before taking further action. This ensures appropriate and safe resolution of the problem.