Splinting
The use of a pillow, folded blanket, or hands held firmly over an incision to reduce discomfort and prevent dehiscence during coughing or movement.
The exam usually tests splinting as a technique-sequencing or priority question rather than a definition: the stem shows a post-op abdominal or thoracic client about to cough, deep-breathe, or use the incentive spirometer, and the correct nursing action is to hold a pillow firmly against the incision before and during the cough, keeping pressure on through the maneuver. A classic distractor is to medicate for pain “instead of” coughing — but the right answer is to pre-medicate and splint so the client can still complete the deep-breathing exercises, since pain-driven shallow breathing and a suppressed cough invite atelectasis.
Watch the related-term traps. Splinting is a comfort and pulmonary-hygiene measure tied to a specific maneuver, whereas comfort is the broad holistic state and mobility/ambulation target immobility hazards like DVT and pressure injuries. Students wrongly assume splinting “prevents falls” — that is the gait-belt and leg-dangling work of safe ambulation. Also distinguish incisional splinting from an orthopedic splint that immobilizes a fracture; the NCLEX uses the same word for both. Memory hook: “pillow before the push.”
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