A patient being treated in the burn injury unit has demonstrated good coping skills for several weeks. Today, a new nurse is assigned to care for him and has proven to be poorly organized. The patient's usual schedule has not been followed, and by midafternoon, he is angry and raises his voice to complain to the nurse clinician. Which course of action for the nurse clinician would be best?
a. Explain the reasons for the problem, and take over his care for the rest of the shift.
b. Validate his distress, review the options, and ask what he would like to happen.
c. Apologize and ask that he be patient with the situation for the rest of the shift.
d. Ask him to control his anger, and ask him if he too wasn't once new at something.
Answer: B