What task can a nurse assign to assistive personnel when caring for a client?

In this scenario, the appropriate task to assign to assistive personnel is to assist a client in getting out of bed after a breathing treatment. This task falls within the scope of practice for assistive personnel, who are trained to provide basic care and support to clients, such as aiding with mobility and daily activities. Assisting clients with positioning and transferring is an integral part of what assistive personnel do to help with comfort and safety.

The other options involve tasks that require a higher level of assessment or clinical decision-making, which is outside the training of assistive personnel. Ensuring a client can use crutches before discharge requires teaching and evaluating safe use, which is a responsibility of the registered nurse. Checking a client's ability to swallow following a stroke necessitates a clinical assessment that may involve implications for the client's safety and requires professional judgment. Obtaining a client's pain rating prior to physical therapy, while it may seem simple, involves assessing the client's pain, which should be done by a nurse to ensure proper evaluation and documentation.

Thus, the selection of assisting a client out of bed after a breathing treatment is appropriate for assistive personnel, aligning with their training and the collaborative roles in client care.