What is the priority action for a nurse to maintain privacy during a lumbar puncture?

During a lumbar puncture, maintaining the client's privacy and dignity is crucial, and pulling the curtains around the client's bed serves as an effective means to achieve this. This action creates a physical barrier that helps to shield the client from view, thereby allowing for a more private environment during the procedure.

Although closing the door to the client’s room is also an important step in ensuring privacy, it may not provide the same level of immediate visual privacy as drawing curtains, especially in a shared room setting where the door may not fully shield the area from outside observation.

Asking family members to leave the room contributes to maintaining the client’s privacy, but this alone doesn’t address the physical space directly surrounding the client during the procedure.

Using sterile drapes, while essential for infection control, is not a direct action related to maintaining privacy in terms of visual exposure to the surroundings. Thus, the action of pulling the curtains best addresses the priority of ensuring privacy for the client during a lumbar puncture.