Safety and Emergency Procedures
What candidates must know
Safety starts with knowing each resident's risk. Fall risk rises with medications, weakness, confusion, incontinence, and a history of falling. Keep call lights within reach, beds low and locked, floors clear, and shoes non-skid. Answer call lights promptly, because the resident who tries to get up alone is the one who falls.
Know the emergency responses. For fire, use RACE: Rescue anyone in danger, Alarm, Contain the fire by closing doors, and Extinguish or Evacuate. Use PASS for a fire extinguisher: Pull, Aim, Squeeze, Sweep. For choking in a conscious adult, give abdominal thrusts. For a seizure, protect the head, turn the resident to the side, do not restrain or put anything in the mouth, and time it. For stroke, think FAST: Face drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulty, Time to call for help. In oxygen use, post no smoking signs and keep flames and petroleum products away.
Traps in questions
- Leaving a resident unattended in a bathtub or on a toilet.
- Using water hot enough to burn; test it and keep it at a safe temperature.
- Moving a resident who has fallen before checking for injury. Do not lift; get the nurse.
- Putting anything in the mouth of a seizing resident.
- Delaying the report because you are embarrassed about an incident.
- Charting opinions or blame in an incident report rather than objective facts.
Worked rule
Find a resident on the floor. Stay with them, check responsiveness and breathing, do not move them, call for help, and take vital signs when instructed. The rule of thumb: protect, call, do not move, and document facts only.