📘 Nursing Fundamentals – Notes
🔹 1. Introduction to Nursing
• Definition: Nursing is the art and science of caring for individuals, families, and communities to promote, maintain, or restore health.
• Main goal: To assist the patient in achieving the highest possible level of health and independence.
• Founder of Modern Nursing: Florence Nightingale (1820–1910)
• The Nightingale Pledge: An oath taken by nurses, similar to the Hippocratic Oath for doctors.
🔹 2. Basic Principles of Nursing
1. Safety: Prevent accidents and ensure patient safety.
2. Comfort: Provide physical and emotional comfort.
3. Cleanliness: Maintain hygiene and asepsis.
4. Efficiency: Perform nursing tasks accurately and timely.
5. Individualized care: Each patient is unique; care should be personalized.
6. Health education: Educate patients about hygiene, diet, and lifestyle.
🔹 3. Qualities of a Good Nurse
• Kindness, empathy, patience
• Good communication skills
• Punctuality and discipline
• Sense of responsibility
• Emotional stability and honesty
🔹 4. Basic Needs of Patients (Based on Maslow’s Hierarchy)
1. Physiological needs: Food, water, sleep, oxygen.
2. Safety needs: Protection from injury/infection.
3. Love & belonging: Emotional support, companionship.
4. Esteem: Respect and dignity.
5. Self-actualization: Helping the patient achieve full potential.
🔹 5. Basic Nursing Procedures
• Bed making: Clean, wrinkle-free bed ensures comfort and prevents bedsores.
• Oral care: Prevents infection and promotes hygiene.
• Bathing: Maintains skin integrity and freshness.
• Feeding the patient: Ensure proper nutrition and hydration.
• Vital signs recording:
• Temperature: Normal = 98.6°F (37°C)
• Pulse: 72/min (average adult)
• Respiration: 16–20/min
• Blood Pressure: 120/80 mmHg
• Positioning: Fowler’s, Supine, Prone, Lithotomy etc. (for comfort and treatment)
🔹 6. Infection Control and Asepsis
• Asepsis: Absence of disease-causing microorganisms.
• Types:
• Medical asepsis – clean technique (hand washing, disinfection).
• Surgical asepsis – sterile technique (during operations).
• Hand washing: The most important method to prevent infection.
• Sterilization methods: Autoclaving, boiling, chemical disinfectants.
🔹 7. First Aid Basics
• Definition: Immediate help given to an injured or sick person before medical aid.
• Golden rules:
• Ensure safety of rescuer and patient.
• Check consciousness, airway, breathing, and circulation (ABCs).
• Control bleeding, prevent shock, and call for medical help.
• Common first aid situations:
• Burns → Cool with water, do not burst blisters.
• Fracture → Immobilize the part.
• Snake bite → Tie band above bite, keep patient still.
🔹 8. Nutrition and Health
• Balanced diet: Contains carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water in proper ratio.
• Functions of food: Energy, body-building, repair, and disease resistance.
• Malnutrition: Lack of essential nutrients → weakness, anemia, poor healing.
🔹 9. Communication in Nursing
• Essential for nurse-patient relationship.
• Types:
• Verbal (spoken or written)
• Non-verbal (gestures, expressions)
• Barriers: Language, cultural difference, emotional disturbance.
• Therapeutic communication: Listening actively, empathy, reassurance.
🔹 10. Nursing Ethics and Professional Conduct
• Ethics: Moral principles guiding nursing practice.
• Key principles:
• Beneficence → Do good
• Non-maleficence → Do no harm
• Autonomy → Respect patient’s choice
• Confidentiality → Protect patient’s privacy
• Accountability → Take responsibility for actions
🔹 11. Documentation & Record Keeping
• Record all nursing care accurately and promptly.
• Important for continuity of care and legal protection.
• Types of records: Admission notes, temperature chart, intake/output chart, discharge summary.
🔹 12. Nursing Process (Systematic Method of Care)
1. Assessment: Collect patient data.
2. Diagnosis: Identify patient’s problems.
3. Planning: Set goals and make care plan.
4. Implementation: Carry out interventions.
5. Evaluation: Check if goals are achieved.
🧠 Quick MCQ Practice (Sample)
1. The founder of modern nursing is —
(A) Clara Barton (B) Florence Nightingale ✅
2. Normal body temperature in Fahrenheit is —
(A) 96.8°F (B) 98.6°F ✅
3. The most effective method of preventing infection is —
(A) Hand washing ✅
4. Principle of “Do no harm” is called —
(A) Non-maleficence ✅
5. Supine position means —
(A) Lying flat on back ✅