alignment, pressure, breathing
🛏️NCLEX-RN STUDY GUIDE
NCLEX-RN Basic Care and Comfort
Review mobility, hygiene, nutrition, elimination, rest, pain, positioning, and assistive care for the 2026 NCLEX-RN test plan.
8 key ideas8 flashcards5 practice questions
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For exam preparation only. Follow current clinical orders, facility policy, and local scope rules in practice.
Assess the person, perform care, then reassess function.
pain, temperature, hygiene
movement, intake, elimination, rest
Key ideas to know
Start with the relationships between ideas. Then close the notes and explain each one from memory.
- 01
Basic care preserves comfort, function, dignity, skin integrity, nutrition, hydration, elimination, rest, and mobility.
- 02
Positioning is selected from the client's condition, procedure, skin risk, breathing, circulation, and prescribed restrictions.
- 03
Immobility raises the risk of pressure injury, atelectasis, venous stasis, constipation, weakness, and loss of independence.
- 04
Skin protection includes regular assessment, moisture management, pressure redistribution, nutrition, and movement when permitted.
- 05
Safe mobility begins with assessment of strength, balance, symptoms, equipment, footwear, and required assistance.
- 06
Nutrition and fluid plans depend on swallowing ability, condition, laboratory findings, preferences, and prescribed restrictions.
- 07
Pain assessment records location, quality, intensity, timing, aggravating factors, relieving factors, and effect on function.
- 08
Comfort care is evaluated by reassessing symptoms and the client's ability to rest, move, breathe, eat, and participate in care.
PART OF THE NCLEX-RN GUIDE
See every set in this course and follow a focused review order.
Open the full NCLEX-RN guide →Two ideas worth correcting now
NOT QUITE
→A client on bed rest should remain in one position
USE THIS INSTEAD
Bed rest still requires prescribed repositioning, skin checks, breathing exercises, and movement permitted by the care plan.
NOT QUITE
→Pain intensity can be judged from appearance alone
USE THIS INSTEAD
The client's report is central, and behavior, function, history, and condition add assessment data.
Flashcards
Answer before opening each card. The effort to retrieve is part of the learning.
1What does repositioning help prevent?Show answer ＋
Pressure injury, discomfort, secretion pooling, and complications of prolonged immobility.
2What finding can suggest swallowing difficulty?Show answer ＋
Coughing, choking, wet voice, pocketing food, or breathing difficulty during or after intake.
3What is aspiration?Show answer ＋
Entry of food, fluid, saliva, or another material into the airway.
4Why is a gait belt used?Show answer ＋
To provide a safer handhold during assisted mobility when suitable for the client.
5What belongs in a pain assessment?Show answer ＋
Location, quality, intensity, timing, triggers, relief, and effect on function.
6What is a pressure injury?Show answer ＋
Localized tissue damage related to pressure or pressure combined with shear.
7Why is oral care needed for clients who are not eating by mouth?Show answer ＋
It reduces dryness, debris, discomfort, and oral microorganism burden.
8What does intake and output tracking estimate?Show answer ＋
The balance between measured fluid intake and measurable fluid loss.
Explain it in your own words
Use the answer as a check after you have written or spoken your response.
01A client coughs and develops a wet voice while drinking. What should the nurse do?
Stop oral intake, keep the client upright, assess breathing and swallowing, and follow the facility's evaluation pathway.
02Why should a weak client dangle before standing?
Sitting at the bedside allows assessment for dizziness, weakness, and blood-pressure intolerance before transfer.
03How can immobility contribute to constipation?
Reduced movement can slow intestinal motility, often combined with lower intake, medicines, and altered routine.
04Why is pain reassessed after an intervention?
Reassessment shows whether relief occurred, whether function improved, and whether another action is needed.
05How should the nurse protect dignity during hygiene care?
Explain each step, offer choices, close doors or curtains, expose only the area being washed, and permit independence where safe.
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