Following a gastric resection, a 70-year-old client is admitted to the postanesthesia care unit.

(A) Adequate air exchange and tissue oxygenation depend on competent respiratory function. Checking the airway is the nurse’s priority action. (B) Obtaining the vital signs is an important action, but it is secondary to airway management. (C) Reorienting a client to time, place, and person after surgery is important, but it is secondary to airway and vital signs. (D) Airway management takes precedence over physician’s orders unless they specifically relate to airway management.