Fundamentals of Nursing and Basic Nursing Skills
Fundamentals tests safe, reproducible basic care: vital signs, hygiene and asepsis, positioning, nutrition, elimination, wound care, documentation and patient safety.
Core values
Adult resting ranges: temperature 36.5–37.5 °C, pulse 60–100/min, respirations 12–20/min, blood pressure around 120/80 mmHg, SpO₂ 95% or above. Report any value outside the range and any change from the patient's baseline, not just the number.
Safety rules
- Identify the patient by two identifiers before any procedure or medicine.
- Perform hand hygiene before and after every contact.
- Keep the bed at a safe height, brakes on, call bell within reach.
- Document in real time: what you observed, what you did, and the response.
Worked example
An order reads: 500 mL Ringer's lactate over 8 hours by gravity with a 20 drop/mL giving set. Reasoning: drops per minute = volume × drop factor ÷ minutes. 500 × 20 ÷ 480 = 20.8, so 21 drops per minute. Count for a full minute, recheck hourly, and document the site and volume infused. With a 60 drop/mL set the answer would be 62.5, so always confirm the drop factor printed on the packaging.
Traps
Counting drops for 15 seconds then multiplying; writing "patient comfortable" instead of measurable observations; leaving side rails down during transport; staging a pressure injury from a photograph without inspecting the tissue.