Basic Nursing Skills Patient Mobility & Positioning 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which position is used for a patient in respiratory distress to maximize lung expansion?
- Supine
- Trendelenburg
- High Fowler's (90 degrees) (Correct answer)
- Prone
Correct answer: High Fowler's (90 degrees)
High Fowler's position (head of bed at 90 degrees) uses gravity to lower the diaphragm and maximize thoracic expansion for patients in respiratory distress.
Question 2: The Trendelenburg position involves:
- Head elevated 30–45 degrees with knees bent
- Supine with feet elevated higher than the head (Correct answer)
- Lying on the side with the upper knee flexed
- Head elevated 90 degrees
Correct answer: Supine with feet elevated higher than the head
Trendelenburg position has the patient supine with the lower extremities elevated above the head, formerly used for shock (use is now debated).
Question 3: Which position is used for a patient during a lumbar puncture?
- Supine with arms above the head
- High Fowler's with neck flexed
- Lateral recumbent (fetal position) or sitting with back curved (Correct answer)
- Prone with pillow under abdomen
Correct answer: Lateral recumbent (fetal position) or sitting with back curved
For a lumbar puncture, the patient is positioned in the lateral recumbent (fetal) position or seated and leaning forward to maximize vertebral space and access the subarachnoid space.
Question 4: When using a gait belt to assist a patient to ambulate, it should be placed:
- Around the patient's chest
- Around the patient's waist, over clothing (Correct answer)
- Around the patient's hips
- Around the patient's thighs
Correct answer: Around the patient's waist, over clothing
A gait belt is secured snugly around the patient's waist (over clothing) to provide a secure grip for the nurse during ambulation assistance.
Question 5: The nurse is turning a patient every 2 hours. The primary purpose of this intervention is to:
- Promote digestion and bowel motility
- Prevent pressure injuries by relieving pressure on bony prominences (Correct answer)
- Improve respiratory function by alternating lung fields
- Promote sleep and reduce anxiety
Correct answer: Prevent pressure injuries by relieving pressure on bony prominences
Turning patients every 2 hours relieves sustained pressure on bony prominences, the primary cause of pressure injury development.
Question 6: Which patient requires the most urgent repositioning?
- A mobile patient who has been in bed for 1 hour
- An immobile patient with non-blanchable redness over the sacrum (Correct answer)
- A patient sitting in a chair for 30 minutes
- A patient in lateral position with a pillow between knees
Correct answer: An immobile patient with non-blanchable redness over the sacrum
Non-blanchable redness over a bony prominence (Stage 1 pressure injury) indicates early tissue ischemia; the patient must be repositioned immediately to restore circulation.
Basic Nursing Skills Patient Mobility & Positioning 1
Which position is used for a patient in respiratory distress to maximize lung expansion?