Essential Knowledge and Skills for Healthcare Assistants and Assistant Practitioners

by Zoë Rawles

Overview

This fully updated and revised edition of Essential Knowledge and Skills for Healthcare Assistants and Assistant Practitioners is a practical and comprehensive text designed to equip you with the necessary clinical skills for your profession. This book:

• equips you with the knowledge to provide the safest and most effective patient care possible;

• provides evidence-based guidelines to ensure best practice that is matched to the National Occupational Standards and the Care Certificate;

• includes new chapters on administering injections, ear irrigation and examining the feet of people with diabetes, and an entirely rewritten chapter on protocols;

• addresses the evolving role of the healthcare assistant and training opportunities;

• supplies comprehensive coverage of both primary and secondary care settings, with an emphasis on primary care;

• covers accountability, communication skills, confidentiality and reflection; and

• uses a light-hearted and accessible style, with definitions, case studies and activities to aid understanding.

This is an indispensable guide for all those training as healthcare assistants and assistant practitioners, and an introductory textbook for students embarking on nursing and health and social care programmes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781351605076
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	03/04/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	254
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Zoë Rawles is a healthcare trainer for HealthTrain in Wales, UK.

Table of Contents

Foreword Introduction Section I: All Change 1. The Evolving Role of the Healthcare Assistant Section II: Some Useful Stuff 2. Understanding Reflective Practice 3. Accountability and Delegation 4. Using Protocols 5. Communicating with Patients 6. Simple Assertiveness Skills 7. Confidentiality, Consent and Record-keeping 8. Health Promotion: The Key Messages 9. Keeping It Clean: Hand Decontamination 10. Chaperoning Section III: Core Skills 11. Physiological Measurements 12. Understanding and Measuring Blood Pressure Accurately 13. Understanding the Heart: How to Perform the Electrocardiograph (ECG) 14. Venepuncture and Capillary Blood Testing: Best Practice 15. Kidney Function and Urine: Performing Accurate Urinalysis Section IV: More Advanced Skills 16. Examining the Feet of People With Diabetes 17. The Skin and the Healing Process: Basic Wound Care 18. Understanding Lung Function and Disease: Performing Accurate Lung Function Testing 19. The Role of the HCA in Administering Immunisations and the B12 Injection 20. Ear Examination and Irrigation Glossary References Index

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Josilyn E Goebel, MSN, AGPCNP-BC(Michigan State University College of Nursing)
Description: This comprehensive second edition book includes the essentials for any healthcare assistant (HCA) or assistant practitioner (AP). It emphasizes safe, effective, patient-centered care in a realistic, easy-to-use format. The HCA/AP role is similar to a medical assistant in a primary care office. The first edition was published in 2013.
Purpose: The purpose is to design a complete guide for HCAs and APs to help them become competent and confident members of the healthcare team. The author achieves this goal with a relevant and practical book.
Audience: This book is intended for HCAs and APs to supplement the training process or is useful as a resource for those already working in these roles. While there is some overlap in responsibilities in the hospital setting, skills and scenarios in this book are targeted for HCAs and APs in the primary care setting. The author has extensive experience in teaching this role and advocating for the regulation and protection of HCAs and APs.
Features: The book contains four sections, starting with a discussion on the evolution of the HCA (and AP) role. Section 2 is full of case studies and reflections to understand how to develop and maintain a high standard of practice that is safe and effective for both the HCA/AP and the patient. This includes topics like understanding protocols, chaperoning, and delegation. Section 3 includes step-by-step instructions and background on core skills that most HCAs and APs will be expected to perform like measuring blood pressure or performing urinalysis. The sections finish with similar explanations of more advanced skills that some HCAs and APs may perform, such as ear irrigation or B12 injections.
Assessment: This is a high-quality, well-organized, and easy-to-navigate book. Skills include step-by-step instructions, helpful pictures, and realistic scenarios. Case studies and real-life examples from HCA/AP students and workers are included throughout. Complicated topics are broken down to help HCAs/APs understand the "why" behind many of their tasks. This is a must-have resource for any current or prospective HCA or AP in primary care!

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