Basic Nursing Skills: Measurement, Observation, and Safe Technique
Basic nursing skills are the hands-on tasks a nursing assistant performs daily: vital signs, intake and output, specimen collection, simple dressing changes, and infection control. A candidate must know normal ranges and, more importantly, when a value must be reported rather than simply recorded. Remember the general adult resting ranges: oral temperature roughly 36.5–37.5 °C (97.7–99.5 °F), pulse 60–100 beats per minute, respirations 12–20 per minute, and blood pressure under about 120/80 mmHg as normal. Blood pressure should be taken with the resident seated, arm supported at heart level, and the cuff the right size.
Infection control is heavily tested. Hand hygiene is the single most effective measure; wash with soap and water when hands are visibly soiled or after contact with body fluids, and use alcohol-based rub otherwise. Follow standard precautions with every resident, and transmission-based precautions for specific infections. When counting respirations, do not announce it, because people change their breathing when they know it is being watched. Count for a full 30 seconds and multiply by two, or a full minute if irregular.
Traps to watch: questions that ask what to do first (usually hand hygiene, safety, or reporting), values described as "slightly abnormal" that still require reporting, and confusing sterile technique with clean technique. A dressing over a surgical wound is sterile; a simple clean procedure is not.
Rule of thumb: if a measurement falls outside the normal range, or the resident says something feels wrong, report it to the nurse promptly and document what you observed and when. You do not diagnose or decide treatment; you observe, act within your scope, and report.