Fundamentals of Nursing and the Nursing Process
Fundamentals rewards the candidate who can reason from first principles rather than memorise lists. Master the nursing process as a cyclic, not strictly linear, sequence: assessment (subjective and objective data), diagnosis (problem statements written as problem–aetiology–signs/symptoms), planning (goals that are client-centred, measurable, time-bound), implementation, and evaluation. Know Maslow's hierarchy and the ABCs (airway, breathing, circulation) as frameworks for prioritising, and remember that physiological needs and safety generally outrank psychosocial ones - except when a psychosocial problem is immediately life-threatening.
Core content areas include vital signs (normal ranges, which route and technique is preferred, and what a change signifies), asepsis and infection control (medical versus surgical asepsis, standard precautions applied to all clients), safe patient handling and positioning, skin and wound care, pressure-injury staging, nutrition and hydration, elimination, oxygenation, and documentation (objective, factual, timely, signed - the legal record).
Traps to watch: questions that describe several problems and ask what to do first (answer by ABCs and acute-versus-chronic); options that mix assessment with intervention when the nurse has not yet gathered data; 'always/never' absolutes; and distractors that are correct in general but not the priority for this client. Also beware of confusing nursing interventions with medical orders.
Rule of thumb - the assessment-first rule: if the stem shows you lack the data needed to act safely, the correct first action is usually to assess (e.g., check the vital sign, auscultate, ask the client) rather than to intervene or call the doctor. Worked example: a postoperative client is restless and confused. Before sedating or restraining, assess oxygenation, blood pressure, pain, and bladder distension - hypoxia and hypotension are common, reversible causes of agitation.