Fundamentals of Nursing and Basic Nursing Skills
Core concepts
Fundamentals questions test whether you can prioritise safely using a structured framework rather than recall trivia. Know the nursing process (assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, evaluation), Maslow's hierarchy, and ABC (airway, breathing, circulation) as the default prioritisation lens. Be fluent in vital-sign ranges, the stages of wound healing, pressure-injury staging, aseptic versus clean technique, and the principles of body mechanics and patient mobility.
Traps to expect
- "First action" versus "best action": the first action is usually assessment or safety (call for help, check airway), not a treatment.
- Delegation boundaries: unlicensed assistive personnel can take vital signs on stable patients and perform hygiene; they cannot teach, assess, or evaluate.
- Maslow conflicts: physiological needs (oxygen, pain, elimination) outrank safety and psychosocial needs unless immediate danger exists.
- Route and technique detail: questions on enema administration, catheter care, or specimen collection often hinge on one positional or hygiene detail.
Worked rule of thumb
When two patients are deteriorating, ask: who will die first without me? A patient with stridor or a rising respiratory rate outranks a patient with stable chest pain and a normal ECG. Use ABC first, then Maslow, then acuity.
Study approach
Practise converting each skill into a sequence: assess, prepare equipment, explain, perform with privacy and asepsis, document. Most distractors are steps placed out of order.