Fundamentals of Nursing and Basic Nursing Care
What you must understand
This domain tests the nursing process (assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, evaluation), the hierarchy of needs, vital-sign interpretation, asepsis basics, positioning and mobility, and safe documentation. Know normal ranges cold: adult pulse 60–100, respirations 12–20, oral temperature roughly 36.5–37.5 °C, and the meaning of orthostatic changes. Understand Maslow-based prioritisation: physiological needs before safety, safety before psychosocial.
Traps in questions
- Absolute vs relative priority. A question asking for the first action after a fall may want airway/breathing assessment, not documentation or calling the family. Documentation is almost never the first action.
- Delegation. Unlicensed assistive personnel can take vital signs and provide hygiene, but cannot perform initial assessment, teaching, or evaluation.
- Normal vs abnormal vital signs presented in a noisy stem; read the numbers before the narrative.
- Positioning - semi-Fowler for dyspnoea, lateral/side-lying for unconscious clients to protect the airway, and never flat supine for a vomiting client.
Worked rule of thumb
When two answers both seem correct, ask: does this address a physiological threat right now? If yes, it outranks comfort, education, or documentation. For example, a client with new confusion and a respiratory rate of 28 - the priority is assessing oxygenation, not reorienting the client.
Documentation principle
If it was not documented, the standard position is that it was not done. Chart objectively: what you observed, measured, and did - never opinions or blame.