CHAPTER 26 SAFETY, SECURITY, AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS 157
Copyright © 2011 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Study Guide for Fundamentals of Nursing:12.Describe how you would assess a patient
for risk for falling by using the Get Up and
Go test (Hendrich, 2007). State the time
parameters for full mobility, almost complete
independence, and impaired mobility.APPLYING YOUR KNOWLEDGE
CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS
1.Visit the homes of friends or relatives who
have children of different ages living with
them. Ask for permission to inspect their home
for safety features that are appropriate to the
ages of the children. Check for poison control,
fire prevention, fall protection, burn and shock
protection, and so on. Share your results with
the family, and explain to them what they
need to do (if anything) to improve safety in
their home. Reflect on the importance that dif-
ferent families attach to safety and its implica-
tion for your nursing practice.
2.Many people tend to take safety measures for
granted. Draw on your experiences in conver-
sations with nurses to identify safety risks for
both nurses and patients in different practice
settings. What can you do to minimize these
risks?REFLECTIVE PRACTICE USING CRITICAL
THINKING SKILLS
Use the following expanded scenario from
Chapter 26 in your textbook to answer the
questions below.Scenario:Bessie Washington, age 77, was
recently discharged to her home after suffering
a cerebrovascular accident (brain attack). She
lives alone in a small one-bedroom apartment
and uses a walker to ambulate. A visiting nurse
performing a safety assessment notes that she
has hardwood floors with throw rugs covering
the traffic areas, and old newspapers and mag-
azines are stacked in piles close to heating
vents. There are no fire alarms visible in the
room. Mrs. Washington tells you, “I have so
much stuff crammed into this apartment,
I almost fell this morning going from my bed-
room to the kitchen.”
1.What safety interventions might the nurse
implement for this patient?2.What would be a successful outcome for
Mrs. Washington?3.What intellectual, technical, interpersonal,
and/or ethical/legal competencies are most
likely to bring about the desired outcome?4.What resources might be helpful for
Mrs. Washington?LWBK696-C26_p151-157.qxd 9/2/10 9:35 AM Page 157 Aptara Inc