Burton
Fundamentals of Nursing Care 4e
Audio Chapter Summary
CH13
Chapter 13 – Safety
Your safety and the safety of your patients requires that you be alert every day to potential
hazards where you work. Safety in any healthcare facility is everyone’s responsibility. Your
professionalism and safe practice will help insure your own well-being and the safety of others
around you.
Address any factors that can contribute to unsafe patient environments, including a patient’s
unfamiliarity to the care facility and equipment, age, ability to understand, impaired mobility,
communication barriers, and pain or discomfort. The National Patient Safety Goals were
established specifically to help decrease injury and harm to patients. These national standards
can help guide you to identify patients correctly, improve staff communication, use medicines
safely, prevent infections, identify patient safety risks, and prevent mistakes in surgery.
Each care facility must have a fall reduction program, which can include a fall assessment
rating scale that provides a numerical rating for each patient’s risk for falls. Patients identified
as “at risk” may need reminders not to get up and try to walk unattended, or to alert nursing staff
when the patient is attempting to do so. There are several ways to avoid this situation without
use of restraints.
If the use of restraints is unavoidable, a physician’s order must be obtained first. Remember to
always apply restraints correctly and tie them with a quick-release knot. Make frequent checks,
and release the restraints every 2 hours for bathroom breaks. Offer food and fluids, and check for
