Maharashtra HSC NSQF Healthcare GDA flashcards

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

GDA scope of practice

The General Duty Assistant provides basic non-invasive care - hygiene, feeding, mobility, positioning, vital-sign recording - under a nurse's supervision, and never diagnoses, prescribes, or performs invasive procedures.

SBAR handover

A structured communication format: Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation. It keeps shift handover concise, complete, and safe, and is closed-loop confirmed by the receiver.

Anatomical position

Standing erect, facing forward, arms at sides with palms forward. All directional terms such as superior, inferior, medial, lateral, proximal, and distal are referenced to this standard position.

Normal adult vital signs

Temperature 36.1–37.2 °C oral, pulse 60–100 beats/min, respirations 12–20/min, blood pressure below 120/80 mmHg, and SpO2 at or above 95% on room air.

Chain of infection

Six linked elements: infectious agent, reservoir, portal of exit, mode of transmission, portal of entry, susceptible host. Breaking any single link prevents transmission of infection.

Airborne precautions

Used for tuberculosis, measles, and varicella: N95 respirator, negative-pressure room with the door closed, dedicated equipment, and a precaution sign at the entrance.

WHO 5 Moments

Hand hygiene before touching a patient, before a clean procedure, after body-fluid exposure risk, after touching a patient, and after touching patient surroundings.

Yellow biomedical waste bin

Receives human and animal anatomical waste, soiled dressings, expired or discarded medicines, and chemical or cytotoxic waste. Contents are incinerated or plasma-pyrolysed.

White translucent sharps container

Used for needles, syringes, scalpel blades, and other sharps. It must be puncture-resistant, filled to no more than three-quarters, and never overfilled or forced.

Braden Scale

A pressure-injury risk assessment with six subscales: sensory perception, moisture, activity, mobility, nutrition, and friction/shear. A lower total score indicates higher risk.

Log-roll technique

Turning a patient as a single unit: arms crossed on chest, far leg crossed over near leg, then roll trunk and hips together. Used for spinal injury and post-surgical patients.

Semi-Fowler's position

A supine position with the head of the bed raised 30–45 degrees. It aids breathing, reduces aspiration risk during feeding, and relieves pressure on the sacrum.

Pulse deficit

The difference between the apical heart rate and the radial pulse rate, counted simultaneously for one minute. It indicates that some heartbeats do not produce a peripheral pulse.

Pulse oximetry limits

SpO2 below 90% is significant. Nail polish, cold extremities, poor perfusion, motion, and incorrect probe placement can produce falsely low or unreliable readings.

Oral temperature contraindications

Avoid the oral site after hot or cold drinks, in unconscious or convulsing patients, in mouth-breathers, and in patients who cannot close their lips or hold the thermometer safely.

Aspiration precautions when feeding

Position the patient upright at 30–45 degrees or more, feed slowly in small mouthfuls, check for food pocketing, and keep them upright for 30 minutes after eating.

Signs of dysphagia

Coughing or choking while eating, a wet or gurgly voice, drooling, food pocketing in the cheek, and regurgitation. Stop feeding and report for swallowing assessment.

Bristol Stool Scale

A seven-type classification of stool consistency, from separate hard lumps (type 1, severe constipation) to entirely liquid (type 7, diarrhoea). Types 3–4 are ideal.

Adult BLS compression rate

Compress the centre of the chest at 100–120 per minute, to a depth of 5–6 cm, allowing full recoil, with a ratio of 30 compressions to 2 breaths.

Adult choking response

Give up to 5 back blows between the shoulder blades, then up to 5 abdominal thrusts, alternating until the obstruction clears or the patient becomes unresponsive.

Burn first aid

Cool the burn under running water for at least 20 minutes, remove jewellery and loose clothing, cover with a clean non-adherent dressing. Never apply ice, oil, or toothpaste.

Recovery position

A lateral side-lying position for an unresponsive but breathing patient without suspected spinal injury: lower arm forward, upper leg bent, head tilted back to keep the airway open.

Therapeutic communication

Use active listening, open-ended questions, reflection, clarification, and summarising. Avoid false reassurance, unsolicited advice, and changing the subject away from the patient's concern.

Informed consent elements

Valid consent requires patient capacity, adequate information about nature, benefits, risks and alternatives, and voluntariness. A GDA may witness consent but cannot obtain it.

Patient confidentiality rule

Share patient information only on a need-to-know basis. Never discuss patients in corridors, lifts, or on social media, and never disclose identifying details to unauthorised persons.

RACE fire response

Rescue anyone in danger, Alarm and activate the fire alarm, Contain the fire by closing doors, then Extinguish or Evacuate according to the facility's fire plan.

Needle-stick immediate action

Wash the wound with soap and water without squeezing, report immediately, and start HIV post-exposure prophylaxis ideally within 2 hours and no later than 72 hours.

Negligence four elements

A successful negligence claim requires a duty of care owed, a breach of that duty, causation linking the breach to harm, and actual damage suffered by the patient.

Documentation correction rule

Never erase or overwrite an entry. Draw a single line through the error, write the correction, add initials, date, and time, and keep the original text legible.

Sterile field rule

Keep the sterile field above waist level and in view at all times. Never turn your back on it; consider it contaminated if it becomes wet or touched by a non-sterile object.

Urinary drainage bag care

Keep the bag below bladder level to prevent backflow, avoid kinks in the tubing, perform daily perineal hygiene, and report cloudy or foul-smelling urine promptly.

Clean-to-dirty dressing sequence

Clean the wound from the centre outward, use a new swab for each stroke, remove the old dressing with gloved hands, and discard waste in the correct colour-coded bin.