Clinical Procedures for Safer Patient Care

Book Description: This open educational resource (OER) was developed to ensure best practice and quality care based on the latest evidence, and to address inconsistencies in how clinical health care skills are taught and practised in the clinical setting. The checklist approach, used in this textbook, aims to provide standardized processes for clinical skills and to help nursing schools and clinical practice partners keep procedural practice current. Each skill/procedure is covered in a chapter that has learning objectives, a brief overview of the relevant theory, checklists of steps for procedures with the rationale behind each step of the process, and a summary of key takeaways. Key terms are set in bold throughout the book and laid out again in a Glossary in the appendix. All 88 checklists are also summarized, and hyperlinked to the original checklist, in the appendix.

1. About the Book

2. Introduction

3. Acknowledgments

4. Disclaimer

5. Chapter 1. Infection Control

   1. 1.1 Introduction

   2. 1.2 Infection Prevention and Control Practices

   3. 1.3 Hand Hygiene and Non-Sterile Gloves

   4. 1.4 Additional Precautions and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

   5. 1.5 Surgical Asepsis and the Principles of Sterile Technique

   6. 1.6 The Operating Room Environment

   7. 1.7 Sterile Procedures and Sterile Attire

   8. 1.8 Summary

6. Chapter 2. Patient Assessment

   1. 2.1 Introduction

   2. 2.2 Pain Assessment

   3. 2.3 Vital Signs

   4. 2.4 Health History

   5. 2.5 Head-to-Toe Assessment

   6. 2.6 Initial and Emergency Assessment

   7. 2.7 Focused Assessments

   8. 2.8 Summary

7. Chapter 3. Safe Patient Handling, Positioning, and Transfers

   1. 3.1 Introduction

   2. 3.2 Body Mechanics

   3. 3.3 Patient Risk Assessment

   4. 3.4 Immobility and Assisting Patients

   5. 3.5 Positioning Patients in Bed

   6. 3.6 Assisting a Patient to a Sitting Position and Ambulation

   7. 3.7 Patient Transfers

   8. 3.8 Fall Prevention

   9. 3.9 Summary

8. Chapter 4. Wound Care

   1. 4.1 Introduction

   2. 4.2 Wound Healing and Assessment

   3. 4.3 Simple Dressing Change

   4. 4.4 Suture Removal

   5. 4.5 Staple Removal

   6. 4.6 Moist to Dry Dressing, and Wound Irrigation and Packing

   7. 4.7 Drain Management and Removal

   8. 4.8 Summary

9. Chapter 5. Oxygen Therapy

   1. 5.1 Introduction

   2. 5.2 Principles

   3. 5.3 Pulse Oximetry

   4. 5.4 Signs and Symptoms of Hypoxia

   5. 5.5 Oxygen Therapy Systems

   6. 5.6 Management of Hypoxia

   7. 5.7 Cautions with Oxygen Therapy

   8. 5.8 Oral Suctioning

   9. 5.9 Summary

10. Chapter 6. Non-Parenteral Medication Administration

    1. 6.1 Introduction

    2. 6.2 Safe Medication Administration

    3. 6.3 Administering Medications by Mouth and Gastric Tube

    4. 6.4 Administering Medications Rectally and Vaginally

    5. 6.5 Instilling Eye, Ear, and Nose Medications

    6. 6.6 Administering Inhaled Medications

    7. 6.7 Administering Topical Medications

    8. 6.8 Summary

11. Chapter 7. Parenteral Medication Administration

    1. 7.1 Introduction

    2. 7.2 Parenteral Medications and Preparing Medications from Ampules and Vials

    3. 7.3 Intradermal and Subcutaneous Injections

    4. 7.4 Intramuscular Injections

    5. 7.5 Intravenous Medications by Direct IV Route

    6. 7.6 Administering Intermittent Intravenous Medication (Secondary Medication) and Continuous IV Infusions

    7. 7.7 Complications Related to Parenteral Medications and Management of Complications

    8. 7.8 Summary

12. Chapter 8. Intravenous Therapy

    1. 8.1 Introduction

    2. 8.2 Intravenous Fluid Therapy

    3. 8.3 IV Fluids, IV Tubing, and Assessment of an IV System

    4. 8.4 Priming IV Tubing and Changing IV Fluids and Tubing

    5. 8.5 Flushing a Saline Lock and Converting a Saline Lock to a Continuous IV Infusion

    6. 8.6 Converting an IV Infusion to a Saline Lock and Removal of a Peripheral IV

    7. 8.7 Transfusion of Blood and Blood Products

    8. 8.8 Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN)

    9. 8.9 Summary

13. Chapter 9. Blood Glucose Monitoring

    1. 9.1 Introduction

    2. 9.2 Glucometer Use

    3. 9.3 Hypoglycemia and Hyperglycemia

    4. 9.4 Summary

14. Chapter 10. Tubes and Attachments

    1. 10.1 Introduction

    2. 10.2 Caring for Patients with Tubes and Attachments

    3. 10.3 Nasogastric Tubes

    4. 10.4 Urinary Catheters

    5. 10.5 Tracheostomies

    6. 10.6 Chest Tube Drainage Systems

    7. 10.7 Ostomy Care

    8. 10.8 Summary

15. Appendix 1: Glossary

16. Appendix 2: Checklists Summary

17. Appendix 3: Video Summary

18. About the Authors

19. Versioning History