A nurse manager is planning to discipline a nurse after discovering that the nurse was discourteous to a client. Which of the following disciplinary steps should the nurse manager take first?

Progressive discipline is a structured management approach that begins with the least severe intervention and escalates only if behavior does not improve. When a nurse is discovered to have been discourteous to a client for the first time, the appropriate first step is a verbal admonishment. A verbal warning communicates the problem clearly to the employee, documents the conversation, and gives the nurse an opportunity to correct behavior before more serious consequences are applied. This approach respects due process and gives the employee a fair chance to improve. Written admonishment is the second step in progressive discipline and is used when verbal correction has not resolved the issue. Suspension from work represents a more serious disciplinary action reserved for repeated or severe offenses after earlier interventions have failed. Involuntary dismissal is the final step in progressive discipline and is appropriate only when all other interventions have been exhausted or when a single offense is so egregious that immediate termination is warranted, such as patient abuse or major ethical violations. Discourtesy to a client, while unacceptable, does not typically warrant skipping directly to dismissal. Starting with verbal admonishment is the correct, fair, and legally defensible first action.