00:01
Hi, I'm Joanna Jackson! I'm a registered nurse, and today,
we’re going to talk about home safety. Home safety is really important in
nursing. It’s important because nurses go
out into the community and are in the home
care environment. But also, nurses in hospitals
and outpatient centers need to know these
concepts in order to provide appropriate patient
education. Home care is a challenging environment
because the home setting has a variety of
variables that are outside of the caregiver’s
control. Things like household hazards, access
to equipment and supplies, and you have less
control of the conditions. It’s important
for the nurse to create an environment of
safety. The home environment includes all
things, both physical and psychosocial that
can positively or negatively affect the health,
wellness, and safety of both patients and
caregivers. These include things like the
home temperature, heating and cooling, toxic
substances, lead paint, cleaning substances,
risk management, seizures, falls, and fire
safety, safety equipment and shower chairs,
transfer boards and lifts. It’s a nursing
priority to protect patients from harm. A
big major concept of this is fall precautions.
01:22
Examine patient’s walking paths, secure
cords, loose materials and rugs, encourage
the use of handrails, clean spills, and ensure
appropriate lighting. Seizure precautions
are equally as important. Cushioned floor
coverings, leave interior doors unlocked so
that you can get in in case of an emergency,
remove glass and sharp objects from common
areas. And during a seizure, never force anything
into the patient’s mouth. Turn the patient
on their side to prevent aspiration and place
something soft under their head to prevent
injury. Home fire safety is really important
in this environment. Make sure you understand
all the concepts, preventative measures, and
what to do in case there is a fire.
02:07
Check home smoke alarms regularly. Escape planning
should be done before emergency. And place
fire extinguishers in convenient and well-known
locations. RACE is an acronym we use in fire
safety; rescue, alarm, confine, and evacuate.
Rescue anyone in immediate danger without
putting yourself in harm’s way. Alarm means
sound alarm. Call the police or emergency
vehicles. Confine the smoke. If you can, close
interior doors. And evacuate everyone to safety.
02:44
PASS is the acronym we use when using fire
extinguishers. PASS stands for Pull, Aim,
Squeeze, and Sweep. Practice that in a mirror
or in front of your friends. As always, the
nursing process is really important and it’s
no different in home safety. The nurse should
always conduct an assessment. Assess the risk
of safety hazards in the home. Identify current
environmental influences. Assess patient’s perceptions
of needs and risks. Identify histories
of falls, seizures, and other safety accidents.
And review medication history to identify
increased risk. Some common nursing diagnosis
that are relevant for home safety includes
risk for injury, impaired walking, impaired
transfer ability, impaired bed mobility, impaired
home maintenance, readiness for enhanced self-care,
and risk for falls. Here are some quick tips
for success. Always assess, diagnose, plan, and
then implement. Always assess before taking
action. If two answers feel correct, reread
the question and pick the answer that is most
correct. And opposites attract. If two answers
are complete opposites, are worded very similarly
with two opposite actions, the answer is usually
in one of those options.