Reading Skills for Healthcare Workers

Sandra is a certified nursing assistant, and Mrs. Blackstone is an elderly client of hers. Mrs. Blackstone has several health conditions that Sandra helps her with. Sandra makes sure Mrs. Blackstone gets some mild exercise every day by taking her on short walks around the neighborhood. Sandra also helps Mrs. Blackstone with range-of-motion exercises while Mrs. Blackstone is sitting in her chair at home. Sandra follows Mrs. Blackstone’s care plan for the exercises that are specifically for Mrs. Blackstone’s health problems, particularly her arthritis. Mrs. Blackstone needs to do exercises that will help her move her joints, so she does range-of-motion exercises for her hands, arms, and legs.

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Sandra stands beside Mrs. Blackstone and helps start the movement for each part of the body. When Sandra helps her, the exercises are called active-assisted. Then Mrs. Blackstone can continue the movement herself. When she does the exercises on her own, they are called active, and she turns the palms of her hands in and out, rotates her wrists, bends and straightens her arms, rotates her legs and ankles, and flexes her feet.

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When Mrs. Blackstone started doing the exercises, they hurt a little; however, as she continued with them, she learned that they helped to increase the flexibility in her joints. Now she does the exercises alone on days when Sandra is visiting other clients. Mrs. Blackstone has found that it is easier to do the range-of-motion exercises in the late morning or afternoon, after her joints have loosened up and she has taken her arthritis medication. Sandra taught her to always exercise the right side of her body first and then exercise the left side. Then she won’t forget to do some of the exercises. Mrs. Blackstone does the exercises while she watches her favorite TV shows. That way, she often forgets she is doing them, but she always feels better afterwards.