Nursing Exam Review Flashcards
Clinical Skills and Safety Awareness
Assistive Devices and Safety
Assistive Devices:
Canes, walkers, crutches.
Important to ask: Can you use a walker to go up the stairs?
Answer: No, walkers are not designed for stairs.
Crutches Usage:
Understand the proper method for using crutches.
Swing-Through Method: This method is incorrect; instead, focus on proper techniques to accommodate mobility.
Gait Belts:
Importance in patient transfer and mobility assistance.
Handling a Falling Patient:
Question: What do you do if a patient is falling?
Recommended Action: Let the patient fall safely rather than trying to prevent the fall.
Pressure Ulcers
Understanding Pressure Ulcers:
Critical to know how to identify, treat, and prevent pressure ulcers.
Stages of Pressure Ulcers:
Stage 1: Non-blanchable erythema of intact skin.
Stage 2: Partial thickness loss of skin presenting as a shallow open ulcer.
Pre-stage 3: Ulcers that are progressing; observe closely.
Identification: Must be able to visually identify characteristics of each stage.
Vital Signs and Assessment
Vital Signs to Monitor:
Temperature, blood pressure, pulse, respiration, oxygen saturation.
Temperature Measurement:
After a patient eats or drinks, wait 30 minutes before taking their temperature.
Choking and Respiratory Patterns:
Ability to identify critical patterns such as Cheyne-Stokes respiration.
Lung Sounds:
Types of Lung Sounds:
Rhonchi: Often associated with airway obstruction.
Wheezing: Indicative of narrowed airways (common in asthma).
Crackles: Suggests fluid in the lungs or inflammation.
Know how to classify and interpret lung sounds.
Emergency Interventions
If Patient is Short of Breath:
Position the patient upright to alleviate dyspnea.
Oxygen Delivery Devices:
Knowledge of devices used for patients with respiratory conditions such as COPD.
Troubleshooting Lung Sounds:
Repositioning the patient can help in improving lung sounds.
Pulmonary Care
Incentive Spirometers:
Used to encourage deep breathing.
Motivation: Sucking to fully expand the lungs.
Diet Therapy
Types of Diets:
Clear liquid, full liquid, regular diet.
Examples:
Sherbrooke: Not classified as a clear liquid.
Importance of knowing when and how to implement specific diet types.
Gastrostomy and Medication Administration
Working with Gastrostomy Tubes (PEG):
Procedures for flushing PEG tubes before, during, and after medication administration.
Recommended flush volume: 15 to 30 milliliters of water for each medication.
Medication Administration Knowledge:
Importance of timing and sequence when giving multiple medications.
Dosage Calculations
Core Calculations:
Essential for proper medication administration.
Basic formula: D/H x V (where D = desired dose, H = on-hand dose, V = volume).
Ensure understanding and competency in basic calculations for safety in patient care.