Personal Care and Activities of Daily Living
Personal care includes bathing, grooming, dressing, oral care, toileting, and feeding. The core principle is to promote independence: encourage the resident to do whatever they can do safely, and assist only with what they cannot. Always explain what you are about to do, gather supplies first, and provide privacy by closing the door and covering the resident with a bath blanket, exposing only the body part being washed.
Safety points candidates must know: check water temperature before a bath (about 37 °C / 98–100 °F, or test with your inner wrist), keep the bed at a safe working height and in the lowest position afterward, and lock bed wheels. When dressing a resident with a weak side, dress the weak side first and undress it last. For oral care, brush teeth and gums and check the mouth for sores or white patches that should be reported. For a resident who cannot eat, follow any thickened-liquid or positioning orders and sit them upright.
Traps in questions: choosing to "do it for" the resident when they can do it themselves, forgetting privacy, and skipping the step of explaining the procedure. Another common trap is the order of dressing and undressing on the affected side.
Worked example: A resident with left-sided weakness can brush their own teeth but cannot button a shirt. The correct approach is to set up the toothbrush and let them brush, then assist with the shirt by putting the left (weak) sleeve on first. Rule of thumb: encourage, explain, protect privacy, and assist only as needed-never rush a resident.