Disclaimer

Nursing Explained provides general education only. It is not clinical advice and doesn't replace your training, your facility's policies and procedures, or the guidance of your supervisor. Practice, products and thresholds vary between countries, states and facilities, so always check your local policy. Content is checked against the named sources at the time of publishing; sources can change, so the "last updated" date is shown on every lesson. If you spot an error, contact us and we'll correct it.

Worried about your own health or someone else's? Contact your doctor, call healthdirect on 1800 022 222 (Australia) or Healthline on 0800 611 116 (New Zealand). In an emergency, call 000 (Australia) or 111 (New Zealand).