Absolute Words
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Alright, the second NCLEX testing strategy we’re gonna talk about is something called Absolute Words. Now, this is a pretty simple one to apply, it’s really easy to use when you’re taking this test and so it’s important to talk about it. So, let’s simply talk about what these absolute words are and how to use this strategy when taking NCLEX test. First of all, I want you to understand that when we talk about absolute words, what we’re talking about are words that are red flags. Okay, these are words that if you see these in an answer option, chances are, it’s probably wrong. Okay, I’m gonna give you 2 exceptions to that. But generally, when we see one of these words in an answer option, it’s usually gonna be, it’s wrong, you can avoid it, you can move on and skip it. These words that I want you to have and I want you to write down, it’s in the lecture notes here, but these words are always, never, none, all, every and can sometimes be the word only, as well. Okay, the reason that these are usually words that you can avoid is that it’s really hard to say that a specific option applies to every situation, every patient, always. And now, you really have to go with that. If the answer option says do something or never do something, then you have to say, you have to go with what’s in that question. And it literally means that you should always do that in every situation, always. Whether you’re working out as an emergency room tech, or whether you’re in an operating room, it’s something that you should always, always do. And so, because of that absolute word, generally these are things that you can avoid, you can skip, and you can run. Now, I want to tell you 2 exceptions to this rule. Sometimes, you might see an option that has absolute word. It looks really right to you and you’re like I feel like I always should wash my hands or something like that. You need to ask yourself 2 questions. First of all, is it a safety issue? Is it something that should always be done or should never be done out of safety for the patient and cannot be applied to many kinds of patients across multiple spectrums of health care? Okay, let’s give an example. Never lift a Foley bag above the bladder. Okay, that’s a safety issue. Alright, if we lift a Foley bag up above the bladder, the urine could back flow back into the bladder, cause bladder infection, cause urinary tract infection, and so, that’s something we really want to avoid. That’s a safety issue. Now we can also apply to a peds patient, OB patient, MedSurg patient, anywhere in the ED, in the OR, on the floor, in a home health, it’s something we can always apply. So, that goes, you know, again, with like hand hygiene. We wanna wash our hands, that’s an always issue because it’s a safety issue and it applies to multiple kinds of patients. So, really, that’s how you can determine if one of these absolute words possibly might be a correct answer but generally, what I want you to do, is if you see one of these absolute words in an answer option, ask yourself number 1 – Is it a safety issue?, number 2 – Can it be applied to multiple kinds of patient? I’m not talking about can it be applied to one or two settings? Can it be applied to every setting in health care? Alright, so it’s really what you have to say, can it be applied to every kind of patient and is it a safety issue? Otherwise, you just gotta, you gotta avoid these types of answer options, okay. Now, let’s do, let’s read an example here. This is a pretty easy example, but let’s read this example to help you kinda see how this can be applied. The question is, how can the nurse best improve circulation when giving a patient a bath? Option 1, Apply soap to the washcloth. Number 2, keep the patient covered. Number 3, Use only hot water. Number 4, use firm strokes. Now, there’s a lot of things that we can apply here. There’s knowledge that we can apply here, a lot of different things that we can use to try to answer these questions but let’s choose the strategy we’re talking about here which is an absolute word. Which of these answer options has an absolute word in it? Obviously, if you look at option number 3, the absolute word is only. So, it’s saying, you can improve circulation for a patient by using only hot water. Now, what that saying is in every situation, every setting always you can improve circulation with hot water. Alright, in certain kinds of patients, it could burn the skin, it can be contraindicated in really young patients and patients with frail skins, or burned patient. We’re not gonna wanna use hot water on that kind of patient. So, since we can’t use it in every situation, and since using hot water is not a safety issue, we can automatically eliminate option number 3. Alright, so, option 4 on this one would be correct, using firm strokes, helping to promote circulation. Option 1 Apply soap to the washcloth is not gonna improve circulation. Option 2 Keeping patient covered is not gonna improve circulation. So, option 3, we automatically eliminate because it’s using an absolute word. You guys, that’s really how it works. I want you to have these words familiar. You can also add only to the list in a lot of instances. Always, never, none, all, every. The only time one of these words can be correct if it’s safety and it can be applied across the health care spectrum. Alright guys, otherwise, hope this strategy helps.
NCLEX
Concepts Covered:
- Circulatory System
- Emergency Care of the Cardiac Patient
- Cardiac Disorders
- Cardiovascular
- Shock
- Shock
- Disorders of the Posterior Pituitary Gland
- Endocrine
- Disorders of Pancreas
- Disorders of the Thyroid & Parathyroid Glands
- Hematology
- Gastrointestinal
- Upper GI Disorders
- Liver & Gallbladder Disorders
- Newborn Complications
- Lower GI Disorders
- Multisystem
- Neurological
- Nervous System
- Central Nervous System Disorders – Brain
- Renal
- Respiratory
- Urinary System
- Respiratory System
- Noninfectious Respiratory Disorder
- Test Taking Strategies
- Note Taking
- Basics of NCLEX
- Prefixes
- Suffixes
- Medication Administration
- Gastrointestinal Disorders
- Respiratory Disorders
- Pregnancy Risks
- Labor Complications
- Hematologic Disorders
- Fundamentals of Emergency Nursing
- Factors Influencing Community Health
- Delegation
- Perioperative Nursing Roles
- EENT Disorders
- Basics of Chemistry
- Adult
- Emergency Care of the Neurological Patient
- Acute & Chronic Renal Disorders
- Emergency Care of the Respiratory Patient
- Respiratory Emergencies
- Studying
- Substance Abuse Disorders
- Disorders of the Adrenal Gland
- Behavior
- Documentation and Communication
- Preoperative Nursing
- Endocrine System
- Legal and Ethical Issues
- Communication
- Understanding Society
- Immunological Disorders
- Infectious Disease Disorders
- Oncology Disorders
- Female Reproductive Disorders
- Fetal Development
- Terminology
- Anxiety Disorders
- Cognitive Disorders
- Musculoskeletal Trauma
- Intraoperative Nursing
- Tissues and Glands
- Vascular Disorders
- Renal Disorders
- Eating Disorders
- Prenatal Concepts
- Microbiology
- Male Reproductive Disorders
- Sexually Transmitted Infections
- Infectious Respiratory Disorder
- Depressive Disorders
- Personality Disorders
- Psychotic Disorders
- Trauma-Stress Disorders
- Peripheral Nervous System Disorders
- Integumentary Disorders
- Neurologic and Cognitive Disorders
- Integumentary Disorders
- Newborn Care
- Basics of Mathematics
- Statistics
- Labor and Delivery
- Proteins
- Emergency Care of the Trauma Patient
- Hematologic System
- Hematologic Disorders
- Developmental Considerations
- Skeletal System
- Digestive System
- Urinary Disorders
- Postpartum Care
- Basic
- Musculoskeletal Disorders
- Bipolar Disorders
- Metabolism
- Cardiovascular Disorders
- Concepts of Population Health
- Musculoskeletal Disorders
- EENT Disorders
- Postpartum Complications
- Basics of Human Biology
- Postoperative Nursing
- Neurological Emergencies
- Prioritization
- Disorders of Thermoregulation
- Writing
- Community Health Overview
- Dosage Calculations
- Neurological Trauma
- Concepts of Mental Health
- Health & Stress
- Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders
- Childhood Growth and Development
- Prenatal and Neonatal Growth and Development
- Concepts of Pharmacology
- Integumentary Important Points
- Emotions and Motivation
- Renal and Urinary Disorders
- Developmental Theories
- Reproductive System
- Adulthood Growth and Development
- Psychological Emergencies
- Growth & Development
- Basics of Sociology
- Somatoform Disorders
- Reading
- Intelligence and Language
- Oncologic Disorders
- Med Term Basic
- Med Term Whole
- Central Nervous System Disorders – Spinal Cord
- Muscular System
- Neonatal
- Learning Pharmacology
- Pediatric
- Psychological Disorders
- State of Consciousness
- Sensory System