PASSPOINTPRO | WGU D439 COMPREHENSIVE STUDY GUIDE
WGU D439
Foundations of Nursing
Comprehensive Study Guide
Includes 60 Practice Questions with Answers and Explanations
Core Concepts - Clinical Priorities - Memory Aids - Rapid Review
PASSPOINTPRO
Page 1
,PASSPOINTPRO | WGU D439 COMPREHENSIVE STUDY GUIDE
How to Use This Guide
Begin with the course map, then study one chapter at a time. Cover the memory aid and explain each concept aloud. Mark
red-flag findings that require immediate nursing action. Finish with the rapid-review checklist and the 60-question review
section. Revisit any item you cannot explain without looking.
High-yield strategy
For every concept, ask four questions: What should I assess? What is the greatest immediate risk? What action is within
nursing scope? What outcome proves the action worked?
Contents
1. Professional Nursing, Scope of Practice and Care Roles
2. Nursing Process and Clinical Judgment
3. Assessment, Vital Signs and Pain
4. Medical Terminology and Documentation
5. Legal Principles, Ethics and Patient Rights
6. Safety and Infection Control
7. Basic Care, Comfort, Mobility and Skin Integrity
8. Oxygenation and Respiratory Care
9. Fluids, Electrolytes, Nutrition and Elimination
10. Medication Administration Foundations
11. Health, Wellness and Holistic Care
12. Therapeutic Communication, Education and Advocacy
13. Death, Dying, Grief and End-of-Life Care
14. Rapid Review Checklist
15. Key-Term Glossary
16. Comprehensive Review: 60 Explained Questions
Page 2
, PASSPOINTPRO | WGU D439 COMPREHENSIVE STUDY GUIDE
1. Professional Nursing, Scope of Practice and Care Roles
Foundational nursing practice combines patient-centered care, clinical judgment, professional accountability, collaboration and
respect for each person's values. Safe care begins with knowing what the nurse may perform, what requires an order and what
can be delegated.
Professional nursing responsibilities
• Use the nursing process to assess needs, identify patient responses, plan care, implement interventions and evaluate
outcomes.
• Practice within the nurse practice act, professional standards, facility policy, personal competence and current assignment.
• Protect privacy, dignity, safety and informed participation while coordinating care with the interprofessional team.
• Maintain competence through education, evidence-based practice, reflection and prompt reporting of unsafe conditions.
• Accountability means accepting responsibility for nursing judgments, actions, omissions and follow-up.
Roles within the care team
• Registered nurse: comprehensive assessment, nursing diagnosis, care planning, initial teaching, clinical judgment,
supervision and evaluation.
• Practical nurse: care for stable patients with predictable needs within local scope; may reinforce teaching and perform
selected procedures.
• Assistive personnel: routine, standard, low-risk tasks for stable patients, such as hygiene, ambulation, intake and output
and routine vital signs.
• Provider: medical diagnosis, prescriptions and medical treatment decisions; nurses clarify unsafe or incomplete
prescriptions.
• Interprofessional collaboration uses each discipline's expertise while keeping goals centered on the patient.
Delegation essentials
• Five rights: right task, circumstance, person, directions and communication, and supervision or evaluation.
• Assess the patient before delegating. Do not delegate nursing assessment, judgment, diagnosis, initial education or
evaluation.
• Give specific instructions: task, patient, expected result, time frame, limits and findings that must be reported immediately.
• Match the task to the delegatee's verified competence and permitted role.
• The RN remains accountable for the decision to delegate and must evaluate the patient outcome.
Memory aid: RN = Assess, Analyze, Teach, Evaluate. Delegate routine tasks, not nursing judgment.
Priority alert: Never accept an assignment or delegate a task that exceeds legal scope, competence or available
supervision. Use the chain of command when safety remains unresolved.
Page 3
WGU D439
Foundations of Nursing
Comprehensive Study Guide
Includes 60 Practice Questions with Answers and Explanations
Core Concepts - Clinical Priorities - Memory Aids - Rapid Review
PASSPOINTPRO
Page 1
,PASSPOINTPRO | WGU D439 COMPREHENSIVE STUDY GUIDE
How to Use This Guide
Begin with the course map, then study one chapter at a time. Cover the memory aid and explain each concept aloud. Mark
red-flag findings that require immediate nursing action. Finish with the rapid-review checklist and the 60-question review
section. Revisit any item you cannot explain without looking.
High-yield strategy
For every concept, ask four questions: What should I assess? What is the greatest immediate risk? What action is within
nursing scope? What outcome proves the action worked?
Contents
1. Professional Nursing, Scope of Practice and Care Roles
2. Nursing Process and Clinical Judgment
3. Assessment, Vital Signs and Pain
4. Medical Terminology and Documentation
5. Legal Principles, Ethics and Patient Rights
6. Safety and Infection Control
7. Basic Care, Comfort, Mobility and Skin Integrity
8. Oxygenation and Respiratory Care
9. Fluids, Electrolytes, Nutrition and Elimination
10. Medication Administration Foundations
11. Health, Wellness and Holistic Care
12. Therapeutic Communication, Education and Advocacy
13. Death, Dying, Grief and End-of-Life Care
14. Rapid Review Checklist
15. Key-Term Glossary
16. Comprehensive Review: 60 Explained Questions
Page 2
, PASSPOINTPRO | WGU D439 COMPREHENSIVE STUDY GUIDE
1. Professional Nursing, Scope of Practice and Care Roles
Foundational nursing practice combines patient-centered care, clinical judgment, professional accountability, collaboration and
respect for each person's values. Safe care begins with knowing what the nurse may perform, what requires an order and what
can be delegated.
Professional nursing responsibilities
• Use the nursing process to assess needs, identify patient responses, plan care, implement interventions and evaluate
outcomes.
• Practice within the nurse practice act, professional standards, facility policy, personal competence and current assignment.
• Protect privacy, dignity, safety and informed participation while coordinating care with the interprofessional team.
• Maintain competence through education, evidence-based practice, reflection and prompt reporting of unsafe conditions.
• Accountability means accepting responsibility for nursing judgments, actions, omissions and follow-up.
Roles within the care team
• Registered nurse: comprehensive assessment, nursing diagnosis, care planning, initial teaching, clinical judgment,
supervision and evaluation.
• Practical nurse: care for stable patients with predictable needs within local scope; may reinforce teaching and perform
selected procedures.
• Assistive personnel: routine, standard, low-risk tasks for stable patients, such as hygiene, ambulation, intake and output
and routine vital signs.
• Provider: medical diagnosis, prescriptions and medical treatment decisions; nurses clarify unsafe or incomplete
prescriptions.
• Interprofessional collaboration uses each discipline's expertise while keeping goals centered on the patient.
Delegation essentials
• Five rights: right task, circumstance, person, directions and communication, and supervision or evaluation.
• Assess the patient before delegating. Do not delegate nursing assessment, judgment, diagnosis, initial education or
evaluation.
• Give specific instructions: task, patient, expected result, time frame, limits and findings that must be reported immediately.
• Match the task to the delegatee's verified competence and permitted role.
• The RN remains accountable for the decision to delegate and must evaluate the patient outcome.
Memory aid: RN = Assess, Analyze, Teach, Evaluate. Delegate routine tasks, not nursing judgment.
Priority alert: Never accept an assignment or delegate a task that exceeds legal scope, competence or available
supervision. Use the chain of command when safety remains unresolved.
Page 3
