• Concepts of Health: Definitions of health (WHO), Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and the health-illness continuum. • Healthcare Delivery: Levels of illness prevention and care (Primary, Secondary, Tertiary), types of health care agencies (hospitals, clinics, hospice), and the roles of members within the health care team. • Professional Nursing: History of nursing in India and the contributions of Florence Nightingale. • Ethics & Values: Definition of a nurse, nursing as a profession, and the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct for nurses in India.

• Communication Techniques: Elements and levels of communication, factors influencing communication, and barriers to effective interaction. • Therapeutic Relationships: Phases and purposes of the Nurse-Patient Relationship and communicating with vulnerable groups (children, elderly, mentally challenged). • Clinical Documentation: Purposes of reports and records, legal guidelines for documentation, and maintaining confidentiality. • Reporting Methods: Systems of recording and specific reporting types, including Change-of-shift reports, Transfer reports, and Incident reports.

• Vital Signs Monitoring: Physiology, regulation, and assessment techniques for Body Temperature, Pulse, Respiration, and Blood Pressure. • Assessment of Alterations: Identifying Pyrexia (fever), tachycardia/bradycardia, and hypertension/hypotension. • Health Assessment Techniques: Use of interview and observation; Physical examination methods including Inspection, Palpation, Percussion, Auscultation, and Olfaction. • Systemic Review: Preparation of the patient/unit and documenting findings from each body system.

• Asepsis & Infection Control: The nature and chain of infection, hospital-acquired (nosocomial) infections, and medical/surgical asepsis. • Protective Measures: Hand hygiene, use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and standard precautions. • Waste Management: Categories and segregation of Biomedical Waste. • Patient Safety: Assessment of fall risks, physical hazards, and the legal implications/application of restraints and other safety devices (side rails, grab bars). • Inventory: Management of equipment and linen (disposables and reusable).

• Comfort & Sleep: Factors influencing comfort, types of beds and bed-making, and the physiology of sleep/rest. • Therapeutic Positioning: Use of therapeutic positions and comfort devices to promote patient well-being. • Pain Management: Physiology and types of pain, assessment tools, and both pharmacological and non-pharmacological relief measures. • Integrative Care: Introduction to Complementary and Alternative Healing Modalities (CAM) and invasive techniques of pain management.