CNA flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Scope of practice

The tasks a nurse aide is legally permitted to perform under state law, limited to skills taught in approved training and delegated by a licensed nurse.

Objective documentation

Recording only what you see, hear, smell, or measure, such as "skin red and warm" or "ate 50% of breakfast," without opinions, judgments, or guesses.

Mandatory abuse reporting

A nurse aide must report any suspicion of abuse, neglect, or misappropriation of resident property immediately to the charge nurse and administrator; the aide never investigates.

Negligence

Failure to provide the care a reasonably prudent nurse aide would provide, causing harm; four elements must be shown: duty, breach of duty, causation, and injury.

Chain of command

The line of authority in a facility: the nurse aide reports to the licensed nurse, who reports to the director of nursing; aides accept direction only from nursing staff.

Invasion of privacy

Unnecessary exposure of a resident's body or disclosure of personal information without consent, such as leaving a door open during care or discussing a resident publicly.

Standard precautions

Infection control practices used with every resident regardless of diagnosis, including hand hygiene, gloves, gown, mask, eye protection, and safe handling of body fluids and sharps.

Contact precautions

Used for infections spread by touch, such as MRSA, C. difficile, and scabies; requires gloves, gown, dedicated equipment, and soap-and-water hand washing for C. difficile.

Airborne precautions

Used for infections spread by tiny droplet nuclei that linger in the air, such as tuberculosis and measles; requires an N95 respirator and a negative-pressure room.

RACE fire response

A fire safety acronym: Rescue anyone in immediate danger, Alarm (pull the alarm and call), Contain the fire by closing doors, Extinguish or Evacuate as directed.

PASS fire extinguisher

The steps for using a fire extinguisher: Pull the pin, Aim at the base of the fire, Squeeze the handle, and Sweep from side to side.

Body mechanics

Techniques that protect the worker's back: widen the base of support, bend the knees, hold the load close, avoid twisting, and use a lift or helper for dependent residents.

Seizure first aid

Lower the resident to the floor, protect the head, turn to the side, loosen tight clothing, time the seizure, and never restrain the person or put anything in the mouth.

Normal adult vital signs

Oral temperature 97.6–99.6 °F, pulse 60–100 beats per minute, respirations 12–20 per minute, blood pressure below 120/80 mmHg, and oxygen saturation 95% or higher.

Radial pulse counting

Count the radial pulse for 30 seconds and multiply by two when the rhythm is regular; count a full 60 seconds when the rhythm is irregular.

Intake and output units

Fluid amounts are recorded in milliliters: 1 ounce equals 30 mL, 1 cup equals 240 mL, and 1 teaspoon equals 5 mL.

Perineal care direction

Wash front to back, from the urethra toward the rectum, using a clean part of the washcloth for each stroke, to avoid carrying bacteria toward the urinary opening.

Repositioning schedule

Turn and reposition an immobile resident at least every two hours, use a 30-degree lateral tilt, and keep the heels off the mattress to prevent pressure injury.

Dysphagia feeding safety

Sit the resident upright at 90 degrees, use thickened liquids if ordered, offer small bites, check the cheek for pocketed food, and keep them upright 30 minutes after eating.

Blood pressure cuff size

The cuff bladder should wrap about 40 percent of the way around the upper arm; a cuff that is too small gives falsely high readings.

Temperature route rules

Wait 15 to 30 minutes after hot or cold food, drink, or smoking before an oral temperature; axillary readings are least accurate, and rectal readings are most accurate.

Resident rights

Federally protected rights including dignity, privacy, choice, self-determination, refusal of treatment, freedom from abuse and restraints, voicing grievances without retaliation, and access to an ombudsman.

Therapeutic communication

Supportive techniques such as open-ended questions, restating, reflecting, silence, and clarification; avoid false reassurance, "why" questions, changing the subject, and giving advice.

Validation therapy

Responding to a confused resident by acknowledging the feeling behind the words and gently redirecting, instead of arguing about facts or correcting the person.

Maslow's hierarchy

A five-level ordering of needs: physiological needs first, then safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization; lower-level needs are met before higher ones.

Kübler-Ross stages of grief

Five reactions to loss - denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance - that may occur in any order and repeat; not every person experiences all of them.

Defense mechanisms

Unconscious coping strategies such as denial, regression, projection, and displacement that protect a person from anxiety; they are not deliberate misbehavior or stubbornness.

Restorative care

Care that helps a resident regain or keep the highest possible function and independence, such as encouraging self-feeding and walking, rather than doing everything for the person.

Gait belt use

A wide belt fastened around the resident's waist over clothing; the aide grasps it with an underhand grip, walks on the weaker side, and removes it when the resident is seated.

Cane on stronger side

A single cane is held in the hand opposite the weak leg, with the handle at wrist-crease height; the cane and the weak leg move forward together.

Braden Scale

A six-part risk assessment scoring sensory perception, moisture, activity, mobility, nutrition, and friction/shear; a lower total score means a higher risk of pressure injury.

Stage 1 pressure injury

Intact skin with a localized area of non-blanchable redness, usually over a bony prominence; the area must never be massaged and must be reported to the nurse.