Reading Skills for Healthcare Workers

Nursing assistant Lily begins her day by greeting all of her residents and checking their care plans. This morning, Lily enters Charlie’s room to find him sitting in his chair, reading the local newspaper. Charlie is an elderly resident who has been sick with a cold. Lily greets him good morning and asks how he is feeling today.

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Charlie answers, “Pretty good, Lily. How about yourself?”

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Lily and Charlie talk for a few minutes. She cleans up his living space and his bathroom, and then she suggests they go down to the common room to watch the morning news program that Charlie likes. Charlie agrees. Lily takes him gently by the arms and helps lift him into his wheelchair after she makes sure the brakes are locked. As she is helping him into the wheelchair, she notices that Charlie has a couple of light purple bruises on his hands. She looks closer at the bruises.

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“Charlie, where did you get these?” Lily asks.

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“Oh, those? I just bumped my hands on the side of the dresser. I bruise so easily now, but it’s not a big deal,” Charlie answers.

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Lily asks, “Are you sure no one else caused those bruises?”

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“No, it’s no one’s fault,” Charlie says.

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Lily believes him. Many elderly residents bruise easily as they age and their skin becomes thinner, but she will still report the injuries to her nursing supervisor because if Charlie’s bruises were caused by another person, documenting the bruises in a report is important.

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Lily wheels Charlie down to the common room to watch his news program with the other residents. Later, Lily will tell her supervisor about the bruises and also document them in a brief report. Lily knows it is always important to document patients’ new injuries, even if the injuries are not caused by another person. The residents rely on her to keep them safe.