Assistive Devices

A patient care technician is observing a patient who is using crutches. Which of the following should the technician identify as proper technique when using crutches?

• The patient uses the handgrips to support their body weight

• The patient has 90 degree of elbow flexion

• The patient is bearing full weight on two feet

• The tips of the crutches rest at a slight angle to the floor

A patient care technician is using a gait belt to assist a patient who had a stroke to ambulate. Which of the following actions should the technician take?

• Ensure that one finger fits snugly between the gait belt and the patient

• Hold onto the gait belt at the front of the patient

• Hold onto the gait belt while walking slightly behind the patient

• Hold onto the gait belt while assisting the patient on their unaffected side

A patient care technician is using a mechanical lift to transfer a patient who in non-weight bearing from a bed to a wheelchair. Which of the following actions should the technician take?

• Slide the patient across the bed once the sling is in place

• Adjust the patient's bed to the height of the wheelchair

• Wrap the sling around the patient's waist

• Lock the wheels on the bed, wheelchair, and lift

A patient care technician is transferring a patient who is weight-bearing from the bed to a wheelchair. Which of the following actions should the technician take?

• Apply a gait belt while the patient sits at the side of the bed

• Place the patient's bed at working height

• Support the patient's underarms when getting up from the bed

• Have the patient grasp the technician's forearm when standing up

A patient care technician is transporting a patient in a wheelchair. When coming to a curb, which of the following actions should the technician take?

• When going down a curb, back the larger rear wheels off the curb and roll them down the curb

• When going up a curb, elevate the front wheels of the wheelchair and keep them elevated while pushing the back wheels over the curb

• When going up a curb, back the wheelchair up to the curb and pull the back wheels onto the curb

• Assist the patient out of the wheelchair before navigating the curb

A patient care technician is applying anti-embolism stockings for a patient who is postoperative. Which of the following actions should the technician take?

• Place the patient in a sitting position

• Roll any excess stocking down to fit snugly above the calf after application

• Bunch the stockings together from the top down to the heel portion before application

• slide the stocking up over the foot and heel

A patient care technician is weighing a patient using a mechanical scale. Which of the following actions should the technician take?

• Move the small weight up in 5-lb increments

• Move the large weight up in 10-lb increments

• Verify that the scale is balanced and the weights are set to zero before weighing the patient

• Verify that the weights are positioned at the patient's estimated weight before the patient steps on the scale

A patient care technician is preparing to transport a patient using a wheelchair. Which of the following actions should the technician take when assisting the patient out of the bed?

• Instruct the patient to place his arms around her neck for support

• Have the patient push off the bed using his hands when prompted

• Place the wheelchair 1 m(3.3 feet) from the patient's bed

• Place the wheelchair on the patient's weaker side

A patient care technician is observing a patient who is ambulating using a walker. Which of the following actions by the patient demonstrates correct technique?

• The patient advances the walker 25.4 to 45.7 cm (10-18 in) in front of their legs

• The walker height is adjusted to 10 cm (4 in) below the height of the patient's hips

• The feet should move up to but not inside the perimeter of the walker

• The patient slide, but does not lift, the walker forward

A patient care technician is transferring a patient from a bed to a wheelchair using a mechanical lift with a sling. As the patient is being transferred, the technician should place him in which of the following positions?

• sim's

• fowler's

• lithotomy

• trendelenburg