Nursing Fundamentals: Core Values and the Nursing Process

• Nursing fundamentals encompass the essential concepts, principles, and skills necessary for providing competent and compassionate care to individuals across the lifespan.
• It forms the foundation upon which all other nursing knowledge and skills are built.

Core Nursing Values

• Altruism: A concern for the welfare and well-being of others, reflected in acts of caring, compassion, and advocacy.
• Autonomy: Respect for the patient's right to make decisions about their own health care, including the right to refuse treatment.
• Human Dignity: Inherent worth and uniqueness of each individual, regardless of their social status, personal attributes, or health condition.
• Integrity: Acting in accordance with accepted standards of right and wrong, including honesty, trustworthiness, and accountability.
• Social Justice: Upholding moral, legal, and humanistic principles, ensuring equal treatment and access to healthcare for all.

Nursing Process

• A systematic, problem-solving approach used to identify, diagnose, and treat human responses to health issues.
• It provides a framework for nurses to deliver individualized, goal-oriented care.
• Assessment: Gathering subjective and objective data about the patient's health status through interviews, physical examination, and review of records.
• Diagnosis: Analyzing assessment data to identify actual or potential health problems and formulating nursing diagnoses.
• Planning: Developing a plan of care that outlines specific goals, interventions, and expected outcomes based on the nursing diagnoses.
• Implementation: Carrying out the planned interventions, which may include providing direct care, teaching patients and families, and coordinating with other healthcare professionals.
• Evaluation: Assessing the patient's response to the interventions and determining whether the goals have been met.

Communication

• An essential component of nursing practice, involving the exchange of information, ideas, and feelings between the nurse and the patient, family, and other healthcare team members.
• Effective communication promotes trust, establishes rapport, and facilitates collaborative decision-making.
• Verbal Communication: Use of spoken or written words to convey a message.
• Nonverbal Communication: Communication through body language, facial expressions, gestures, and tone of voice.
• Active Listening: Paying close attention to what the patient is saying, both verbally and nonverbally, and providing feedback to ensure understanding.
• Therapeutic Communication Techniques: Specific strategies, such as open-ended questions, reflection, and empathy, used to encourage patients to express their feelings and concerns.

Infection Control

• Practices and procedures designed to prevent the spread of infections in healthcare settings.
• Hand hygiene is the most important measure for preventing the transmission of microorganisms.
• Standard Precautions: A set of infection control practices used for all patients, regardless of their known or suspected infection status.
• Transmission-Based Precautions: Additional precautions used for patients with known or suspected infections that are spread through airborne, droplet, or contact routes.
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Gloves, gowns, masks, and eye protection used to protect healthcare workers from exposure to infectious agents.
• Sterilization: A process that eliminates all microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, and spores.
• Disinfection: A process that reduces the number of microorganisms on a surface or object.

Hygiene

• Practices that promote cleanliness and health, including bathing, oral hygiene, hair care, and nail care.
• Maintaining good hygiene helps to prevent infection, promote comfort, and enhance self-esteem.
• Bathing: Cleansing the body to remove dirt, sweat, and microorganisms.
• Oral Hygiene: Brushing and flossing teeth to remove plaque and prevent dental problems.
• Perineal Care: Cleansing the perineal area to prevent infection and promote comfort.

Safety

• Creating a safe environment for patients to prevent accidents, injuries, and errors.
• Includes identifying and addressing potential hazards, implementing safety protocols, and monitoring patient safety.
• Fall Prevention: Measures taken to reduce the risk of falls, such as assessing patients' risk factors, providing assistive devices, and ensuring a clutter-free environment.
• Medication Safety: Practices to prevent medication errors, such as verifying medication orders, administering medications correctly, and monitoring patients for adverse effects.
• Fire Safety: Procedures to prevent and respond to fires, such as knowing the location of fire extinguishers and escape routes.

Body Mechanics

• The use of proper posture, balance, and movement to prevent injury and fatigue.
• Using good body mechanics reduces the risk of musculoskeletal disorders.
• Principles of Body Mechanics: Maintain a wide base of support, keep the back straight, bend at the knees, and hold objects close to the body.

Vital Signs

• Measurements of the body's basic functions, including temperature, pulse, respiration, and blood pressure.
• Vital signs provide valuable information about a patient's overall health status.
• Temperature: Measurement of body heat, typically taken orally, rectally, axillary, or tympanically.
• Pulse: Measurement of the heart rate, typically taken at the radial, brachial, or carotid artery.
• Respiration: Measurement of the rate and depth of breathing.
• Blood Pressure: Measurement of the force of blood against the artery walls.

Nutrition

• The process of providing or obtaining the nutrients necessary for health and growth.
• Nurses play a role in assessing patients' nutritional needs, planning meals, and providing nutritional education.
• Macronutrients: Carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, which provide energy for the body.
• Micronutrients: Vitamins and minerals, which are essential for various bodily functions.
• Therapeutic Diets: Special diets prescribed for patients with specific health conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, or kidney disease.

Elimination

• The process of removing waste products from the body.
• Nurses assess patients' bowel and bladder function, provide assistance with elimination, and manage elimination problems.
• Urinary Elimination: The process of emptying the bladder.
• Bowel Elimination: The process of emptying the bowels.
• Constipation: Infrequent or difficult bowel movements.
• Diarrhea: Frequent, watery bowel movements.
• Urinary Incontinence: Involuntary leakage of urine.

Oxygenation

• The process of providing oxygen to the body's cells and tissues.
• Nurses assess patients' respiratory status, administer oxygen therapy, and assist with breathing exercises.
• Oxygen Therapy: The administration of supplemental oxygen to increase the oxygen level in the blood.
• Pulse Oximetry: A noninvasive method for measuring the oxygen saturation in the blood.

Comfort and Pain Management

• Providing comfort and relief from pain is an important aspect of nursing care.
• Nurses assess patients' pain levels, administer pain medications, and use non-pharmacological pain management techniques.
• Pain Assessment: Evaluating the patient's pain intensity, location, and characteristics.
• Pain Management: Strategies to relieve pain, including medications, heat or cold applications, massage, and relaxation techniques.

Medication Administration

• The process of preparing and giving medications to patients.
• Nurses must have a thorough understanding of medication orders, routes of administration, and potential side effects.
• Rights of Medication Administration: Right patient, right medication, right dose, right route, right time, right documentation.

Wound Care

• The management of wounds to promote healing and prevent infection.
• Nurses assess wound characteristics, cleanse and dress wounds, and monitor for signs of infection.
• Wound Assessment: Evaluating the wound's size, depth, color, and drainage.
• Wound Dressing: Applying a sterile covering to protect the wound and promote healing.

Patient Education

• Providing patients and families with information about their health condition, treatment plan, and self-care measures.
• Patient education empowers patients to take an active role in their health care.
• Teaching Methods: Demonstrations, written materials, and verbal instructions.
• Evaluation of Learning: Assessing the patient's understanding of the information that was taught.

Documentation

• The process of recording patient information in a clear, concise, and accurate manner.
• Accurate documentation is essential for communication, continuity of care, and legal protection.
• Types of Documentation: Narrative notes, flow sheets, and checklists.