Patient Care and Safety Flashcards

A resident begins choking on food during mealtime. The nursing assistant should first:

Answer: Encourage the resident to cough forcefully

If the resident can cough, speak, or breathe, encourage forceful coughing before escalating to abdominal thrusts.

When repositioning a resident to prevent pressure injuries, the nursing assistant should change the resident's position at minimum every:

Answer: 2 hours

Standard care guidelines require repositioning immobile residents at least every 2 hours to relieve prolonged pressure on tissue.

Which action best prevents the spread of infection when a nursing assistant moves from one resident's room to another?

Answer: Perform hand hygiene between resident contacts

Hand hygiene between every resident contact is the single most effective measure to prevent cross-contamination.

A nursing assistant notices a small reddened area over a resident's coccyx that does not blanch when pressed. This finding should be:

Answer: Documented and reported to the nurse immediately

Non-blanchable redness indicates a Stage 1 pressure injury and must be reported to the nurse right away for further assessment.

The correct order for applying personal protective equipment (PPE) before entering an isolation room is:

Answer: Gown, mask, goggles, gloves

CDC guidelines specify donning PPE in the order gown first, then mask/respirator, goggles, and finally gloves.

When assisting a resident with a mechanical lift transfer, the nursing assistant must ensure:

Answer: Two staff members are present during the lift

Safe mechanical lift use requires at least two staff members—one to operate the lift and one to guide and stabilize the resident.

A resident using a walker suddenly feels dizzy and grabs the nursing assistant's arm. The safest response is to:

Answer: Lower the resident to the floor in a controlled manner

Controlled lowering to the floor prevents injury from an uncontrolled fall and protects both the resident and the nursing assistant.