A nurse is caring for a client on a medical-surgical unit. Exhibits Complete the following sentence by using the lists of options. The priority action the nurse should perform is dropdown as evidenced by the client’s dropdown.

The priority action the nurse should perform is increase oxygen flow rate as evidenced by the client’s oxygen saturation. Rationale: The client’s oxygen saturation has dropped to 90% on 1 L/min oxygen via nasal cannula, which is below the expected range of 95–100% for adequate oxygenation. Hypoxemia is an immediate threat and requires prompt intervention to prevent tissue hypoxia. Increasing the oxygen flow rate is the most direct action to improve oxygenation. Repeating arterial blood gases is useful for monitoring but does not immediately correct hypoxemia. Administering acetaminophen may address the fever but does not correct the priority problem of low oxygen saturation.