Basic Nursing Skills
What this domain covers
Basic nursing skills are the routine measurement, observation, and comfort tasks a nurse aide performs and then reports. You are the nurse's eyes and ears: your job is to gather accurate data and hand it off, not to interpret or treat it.
Vital signs. Know the accepted adult ranges: temperature about 97.6–99.6 °F orally, pulse 60–100 beats per minute, respirations 12–20 per minute, blood pressure under 120/80, and oxygen saturation 95–100%. Pain is often called the fifth vital sign and must be asked about and reported. Take an apical pulse at the left chest below the nipple and count a full minute; report a pulse deficit if the apical and radial rates differ. Count respirations without announcing it, because people change their breathing when they know they are being watched. If a pulse or respiration is irregular, count for a full minute rather than 30 seconds.
Intake and output, weights, and specimens. Measure fluids in milliliters and record everything, including ice chips, soup, and IV fluids (from the nurse). Weigh on the same scale, at the same time of day, with the same clothing, and record in the unit used by the facility. Collect specimens in the correct container, label it at the bedside, and send it promptly.
Traps to watch for. Questions love ordering errors: forgetting to report a finding, wiping the thermometer with hot water, taking a blood pressure through a sleeve, or charting a guess instead of a measurement. "Notify the nurse" is almost always part of the right answer when a value is abnormal.
Rule of thumb. If a number, color, smell, or behavior is new or outside the normal range, report it right away and document what you saw and what you did - never wait until the end of your shift.