What is an appropriate action for a nursing assistant if a resident starts to fall?

If a resident starts to fall, the appropriate action is to widen your stance and break the fall. This approach helps to stabilize your own body and provides support to the resident during the fall. By widening your stance, you can lower your center of gravity, which helps maintain balance. Additionally, breaking the fall means using your body to control how the resident lands, thus reducing the impact and minimizing the chance of injury.

Focusing on the natural motion of the fall allows you to manage situations better, potentially guiding the resident to the ground in a safer manner rather than just letting them fall without any support or trying to catch them, which could increase the risk of injury for both parties. Maintaining a calm and controlled response during such an incident is critical, as it can impact the outcome significantly.