Patient Care & Safety Flashcards

When transferring a patient from a wheelchair to an exam table, the medical technician should:

Answer: Lock the wheelchair, position it at 45°, and use proper body mechanics

Locking the wheelchair and positioning it at a 45-degree angle with proper body mechanics prevents injury to both patient and technician.

A patient receiving an IV infusion develops redness, swelling, and coolness at the insertion site. This most likely indicates:

Answer: Infiltration (extravasation)

Infiltration occurs when IV fluid leaks into surrounding tissue, causing swelling and coolness at the site.

Which of the following is the correct order of the venipuncture tube draw?

Answer: Sodium citrate (blue), SST, heparin (green), EDTA (purple)

The correct order of draw is: blood cultures, sodium citrate, SST, heparin, EDTA to prevent additive cross-contamination.

A confused elderly patient is attempting to climb out of bed. The safest immediate intervention is to:

Answer: Stay with the patient, use calm verbal redirection, and call for help

Staying with the patient and using calm redirection while calling for help is the safest intervention before any restrictive measures.

The purpose of a Material Safety Data Sheet (SDS/MSDS) is to:

Answer: Provide hazard, handling, and emergency information for chemical substances

An SDS provides information on chemical hazards, safe handling, storage, and emergency response procedures.

Which type of fire extinguisher is appropriate for an electrical fire in a medical laboratory?

Answer: Class C (CO2 or dry chemical)

Class C extinguishers use non-conductive agents like CO2 or dry chemical and are required for electrical fires.

Before performing any procedure, informed consent requires the patient to understand:

Answer: The nature, risks, benefits, and alternatives to the procedure

Informed consent requires that the patient understands the procedure, its risks, benefits, and available alternatives before agreeing.