How is your Skills Course Organized?

[morrissey fan]

Hi colleagues:

We are considering revising our semester long, first semester Nursing Skills course (ADN program). We won't change any of the learning objectives as these are mandated by our state curriculum, but we are tired of lecturing and then watching students practice. We think the course should be more student centered and skills based than our current way of doing things.

Do you have any suggestions or approaches that you have used to organize your skills course that you would like to share?

Currently, we have four multiple choice exams, performance tests (on 4 selected skills) and math calculation quizzes. We present the content, supervise practice and....it gets boring for the students....and for us. There must be a better way to teach skills.

Thanks so much for any guidance or wisdom!

[anabrn]

Hi Morrisey fan,

We incorporated low and high fidelity simulation stations into the lab sessions. We included a short vignette with a patient scenario so that they were not just practicing skills, but they were also working on soft skills such as introducing themselves and time management. We incorporated peer evaluation (formative eval) and even had one station where they could have someone video record the skill for the student to self evaluate later. The sessions became more interactive and all were more engaged.

Hope this helps to spark other ideas.

[morrissey fan]

Oh my goodness...thank you so much. Our course is long overdue for a refresh. These ideas are very helpful.

[elizabeast7, ADN, BSN, MSN]

We also have a simulation session with the students in which they must enter, apply PPE, obtain vitals, and do a pain assessment. This serves as a mid-term skill exam for us. We are introducing recording into this terms lab course, and looking forward to the results!

[historyfan]

Keep me posted...we are looking to make some much needed changes...thanks so much!