Home Nursing Techniques

1.  If you are a good home nurse, what are the various home nursing techniques that you need to apply that will make the patient feel comfortable and speed up the recovery?
-As a home nurse, I should be responsible in recording all vital signs of the patient as to be aware of what to do once the patient has a change in their usual vital signs. 

2.  Why should the home nurse monitor the vital signs of the patient?
- It is important to check the patient's vital signs for the home nurse to be aware of the changes that are happening in their body and to be ready for emergencies that might happen if something goes wrong.

3.  How do you take the body temperature, pulse rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure of the patient?
~To take the body temperature, the home nurse should use a thermometer which is put to various parts of the body (rectum, mouth and armpit). Since the normal body temperature of a human is 37°C (98.6°F), going above it indicates that the patient has a fever.
~To check the pulse rate, the home nurse must place his/her index and middle finger (excluding the thumb) on the patient's wrist. The home nurse must now count how many times the heart beats for 1 minute. You can use a clock's second hand for a more accurate counting.
~Since the patient can change their breathing voluntarily, the home nurse must check their respiratory rate when the patient is not aware.
~In taking the patient's blood pressure, the patient must sit comfortably with the arm rested on a table. The home nurse must wrap the BP cuff around the patient's arm and place the bell-shaped end of the stethoscope in the inside of the elbow where the pulse can be felt. Squeeze the rubber cuff until the pulse can no longer be heard. Then, release the air slowly. When the first beat of the heart is heard, record it as systolic pressure. Take the reading again when the thumping of the heart disappears (diastolic pressure). Indicate in the record how the blood pressure was taken.

4.  What are some practices that the home nurse must follow that will promote comfort to the patient?
- To promote comfort to the patient, a home nurse must be cheerful always for the patient to be convinced that they will recover soon.
5.  How will you differentiate signs from symptoms of illnesses and diseases?
 -The difference between the two is that signs are what the doctor sees to help identify what the disease is. Symptoms are what the patient feels to further help in identifying the disease.
6.  If you are the doctor, what will be your basis in giving the diagnosis for your patient?
-If I become a doctor, my basis in identifying the disease will be how the patient is feeling and
what I see based on how they act or move.