General Patient Care Flashcards
patient identification
- joint commission stresses two methods of identification
- full name and date of birth
disinfecting rooms
- beginning and end of day and between patients
- sodium hypochlorite solution (1:10 dilution of bleach to water)
active listening
- communicating verbally and nonverbally
- asking open ended questions
- restatement, reflection, and clarification
rapport and empathy
-sympathy leads to poor communication and burn out
chief complaint
- subjective information
- in patients own words
- reason for visit
- whats brining you in today
- open ended
drug reconciliation
- ask for them to bring medication list
- every visit ask
- also ask for allergies
personal and family history
- prior to the first office visit
- objective information
- ask to update it and review
screening
- audiometry
- visual acuity testing
- urinalysis
- anthropometric
- vital signs
- growth charts
- denver developmental screening test
- scoliosis screening
- mini-mental state examinations
temperature
- measures metaboloism
- pyrexia-fever
- 98.6
oral temperature
-digital thermometer
aural temperature
-tympanic thermometer
temporal temperature
-temporal artery scanner
axillary and retcal temperature
- determine skin and core temperature
- rectal is 1 degree higher usually
- axillary is 1 degree lower usually
heart rate
- 2nd and third finger are used to palpate the pulse
- radial pulse- thumb side of wrist (Adults)
- brachial pulse- inside upper arm (kids)
- carotid- neck (emergencies)
- can be taken through palpation or auscultation
auscultation
- another way to take heart rate
- apical pulse is counted by listening to heart beat at apex of heart
- also used in blood pressure
pulse
- evaluated on rate, rhythm, or regularity, volume or strength
- 70/min (rate), regular (rhythm), thready (strength)
thready
-faint heart
bounding
strong pulse
femoral pulse
-strong femoral pulse can indicate circulation being sent to the lower extremity
pedal pulse
-if pedal pulse is absent toe circulation is weak
average heart rate
- newborn- 120-160
- infant- 80-140
- toddler- 80-130
- preschool- 80-120
- school-age- 70-100
- adult- 60-100
respiration
- evaluated on rate, rhythm, and depth
- decreases with age
- one respiration- inhale and exhale
- newborn- 30-50
- adult- 12-20
- auscultations- wheezing, rales, or ronchi
blood pressure
- sphygmomanometer
- millimeters of mercury (mm Hg)
- systolic pressure- first noise, blood begins to surge into the artery
- diastolic pressure- last sound, blood is flowing freely
systolic and diastolic pressure
-phase 1 and 5 of korotkoff sounds
average blood pressure
- infants and children- 60/30-100/80
- adults- 100/60-140/80
- more than 140/90 is hypertension
- 120-139/80-89- prehypertension
pulse oximetry
- oxygen saturation
- noninvasive
- infrared light
- 95% or higher is normal
vitals for all patients
- height
- chief complaint
- weight
- temperature
- heart rate
- respirations
- urinalysis
blood pressure
mostly taken only for adults
head circumference
-children 3 years and younger
