It is rumored that there is something in the workplace that is causing

It is rumored that there is something in the workplace that is causing persons employed there to feel ill. Which of the following actions would be most appropriate for the nurse to take?

a. Ask researchers to set up a study to confirm the health hazard in the environment
b. Assess the risk, including identifying any toxic substance
c. Confirm the extent to which the illness resulted from intergroup agreement on the illness and cause
d. Insist that the media not further spread stories of possible sick buildings until the truth of the situation can be studied

ESSAYBID ANSWER

ANS: B
The media report news; they do not create it without any basis. Researchers are not asked to confirm a preconceived conclusion but to seek what factors are active in a situation. “Group think” is a well-known phenomenon, but one would have to ask what led the communication leaders to believe originally that there was a hazard in the environment. Risk assessment in a questionable situation begins with identifying a possible hazard and describing the risk.