Basic Nursing Care Provided by the Nurse Aide
Vital signs
Know normal ranges and report anything outside them. Count respirations for a full minute without telling the resident. Take blood pressure with the correct cuff size, arm at heart level, and avoid an arm with an IV, a dialysis fistula, or on the mastectomy side. Oral temperatures are unsafe for confused, seizure-prone, or mouth-breathing residents; rectal temperatures are avoided with diarrhea or heart problems. Pain is often called the fifth vital sign.
Hygiene and grooming
Bathe with dignity - drape the resident and expose only the part being washed. Clean the perineum front to back. Check skin folds at every bath. For dentures: remove them over a towel or a basin of water, clean with cool water, and store them in a labeled cup; hot water warps them. Do not cut the toenails of residents with diabetes or poor circulation - report the need instead. Use an electric razor for residents on blood thinners. Dress the weak side first.
Bed making, intake and output, specimens
Never shake linens or hold them against your uniform, and never put soiled linen on the floor. Measure and record all fluids taken in and urine output. Weigh residents at the same time of day, on the same scale, with the same clothing.
Heat and cold
Check the skin before and during application, limit time per policy, and never apply heat or cold to numb skin or skin with poor circulation without an order.
Trap. Charting a task before you do it, or charting care you did not give, is falsification.