NURSING FUNDAMENTALS EXAM 1 STUDY GUIDE

NURSING FUNDAMENTALS EXAM ONE STUDY GUIDE 1. Know what to do if your glove gets a tear while you are rendering care ● Take off contaminated pair, perform proper hand hygiene and put on new pair of gloves using proper technique. Put the glove on the dominant hand 1st and then 2nd. 2. Know what it means to prepare a sterile field and what you should keep in mind ● Sterile field: an area free of microorganisms and prepared to receive sterile items (1-in border within sterile field is considered non-sterile). ○ Example: opening sterile packs. ■ Use ABHR or wash hands with soap and water before opening pack. ■ Clean surface to establish sterile field and keep above waist level. ■ Check pack for sterility (expiration date, if intact, any tears, pack should be dry). ■ Open pack from the top and pull to the sides or open away and then towards you, depending on packaging (make sure it is within sterile field). ● Also make sure arm is not above sterile field. ● Make sure to only touch the 1 in tips of the pack/drape. ● Requires a work area in which objects can be handled with minimal risk of contamination. ● A nurse can never turn their back on a sterile field or a sterile tray or leave it unattended. 3. Know what the chain of infection is and why it is Important to know. Chain of Infection - Infectious agent or pathogen - Reservoir- a place where microorganisms survive and multiply. - Human reservoir (2 types) - 1. Those with acute or symptomatic disease - 2. Those who show no signs but are carriers. - Portal of exit - Mode of transmission - Portal of entry - Susceptible host * A presence of a pathogen does not mean that an infection will occur* * It is important to know because to prevent germs from infecting more people, we must break the chain of infection. EX) Hand Hygiene. 4. Review communication strategies Verbal - Vocabulary - avoiding medical jargon. Use a translator if needed. If speaking to a child, or teenager, be aware how their vocabulary may vary - Denotative and Connotative meaning - select words carefully so they are not misinterpreted - Pacing - mind your pace, it can affect how the words are interpreted - Intonation - your tone - Clarity and brevity - be concise, speak slow, be clear in your meanings. Don’t say “you know” - Timing and relevance - when you deliver a message is nearly as important as what the message is Non-Verbal - Personal appearance - Posture and Gait - Facial expression - Eye contact - varies by culture - Gestures - Sounds - Territoriality and personal space 5. Know what subjective data and objective data are ● Objective data: “what the nurse observes” observable and measurable data that can be seen, heard, or felt by the nurse (ex. temp, BP, or HR) ● Subjective: “what the patient says” information perceived only by the affected patient (ex. pain, feeling dizzy, feeling anxious) 6. Know Florence Nightingale’s Environmental Theory ● Known as the first nursing theorist; described nursing as a profession that requires its own knowledge (as opposed to medical knowledge) ● Theory founded on belief that nursing could improve a PTs environment to facilitate recovery ● Environmental factors that affect health: fresh air, pure water, sufficient food, efficient drainage, cleanliness of PT and environment, and light (sunlight) 7. Know when you would administer a partial bed bath ● When patient have an accident in bed ● Partial Bed bath that consists of bathing only body parts that would cause discomfort if left unbathed, such as the hands, face, axilla, and perineal area. Partial bath also includes washing back and providing back rub. Dependent patients in need of partial hygiene or self-sufficient bedridden patients who are unable to reach all body parts receive a partial bed bath. 8. Know the concepts of the nursing metaparadigm