Basic Nursing Care Provided by the Nurse Aide
Hygiene and grooming
Respect privacy and warmth: expose only the part you are washing, wash from clean to dirty, and clean the perineum front to back. Change washcloths and water as they soil. For a dependent resident, brush gums and tongue. Remove dentures, clean them over a basin, and store them in a labeled cup of cool water - hot water warps them. Never leave dentures on a meal tray or wrapped in a tissue.
Vitals, weights, and specimens
Know normal ranges and report abnormal values rather than your interpretation. Count respirations without announcing it, because awareness changes breathing. For an irregular pulse, count a full minute. Wait about 15 minutes after hot or cold drinks before an oral temperature, and avoid oral temps for residents who are confused, have seizures, or had mouth surgery. Match cuff size to the arm and support it at heart level. Weigh at the same time, on the same scale, with the same clothing.
Documentation and intake/output
Chart objectively and at the time: what you did and what you saw, not opinions ("was difficult") or guesses. Record intake in mL and all output, including urine, vomit, and drainage. Report changes such as new confusion, refusing food, skin breakdown, or pain.
Traps
Sequence questions reward the safe order: hand hygiene, identify the resident, explain, provide privacy, then care. In a bed bath, wash the face first, then arms, chest, abdomen, legs, back, and the perineum last.
Rule of thumb
Clean to dirty, head to toe, perineum last.