question about skills testing

Nursing Students General Students

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Hi. I've been a lurker here for a few months. I'm a first-year ADN student. I'm very excited and so far loving most of my learning experience.

However, much of the program seems to be "self-taught." Particularly, our skills testing. I'm wondering if this is universal, or just the way our school does things.

For example, students sign up for skills demonstrations. Those students are responsible for demonstrating the skill. This is usually done on Tuesday. Two Thursdays later, we are tested on that skill. We never get to see an experienced instructor perform the skill, and this is somewhat frustrating to me.

So far, I've passed all of my skills (body mechanics, bedmaking, bathing, head-to-toe assessments, vitals, foley catheterization, etc.) But, I think that I would be more successful if the instructors demonstrated them first. Perhaps I am asking too much of them?

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I understand exactly how you feel. In lab our teachers do not demonstrate things and we really have to teach ourselves. For example we have skills check off this week and I don't think we have ever seen one done by our instructor.

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Specializes in Maternity & Well Baby Nursery.

WOW! I don't know what I would do if my instructors didn't demonstrate what needed to be done. What programs are you in? I am in an ADN 2-year program.

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Hello, I am in the first semester of a ADN program and we are shown a skill once in Lab say on Tuesday. Checked off on it Thursday and Friday we actually have to perform that skill in Clinicals. So far we have to use the skill in clinicals on vitals and Bed baths. We were just basically going on memory of what we read in our books. So you not the only one that is not getting alot of time to practice.

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In our class, our instructor leactures about the skill, then shows it to us in lab that same day. Then she usually gives us lab time to ourselves, and we need to have 2 peer evaluations for each skill. The next time we go back to class, we can get signed off by the teacher. Some things are hard to learn though just by watching her one time (trach care, NG tubes, catheters), but we get the hang of it :nurse:

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Specializes in Maternity & Well Baby Nursery.
In our class, our instructor leactures about the skill, then shows it to us in lab that same day. Then she usually gives us lab time to ourselves, and we need to have 2 peer evaluations for each skill. The next time we go back to class, we can get signed off by the teacher. Some things are hard to learn though just by watching her one time (trach care, NG tubes, catheters), but we get the hang of it :nurse:

That's what they do in my program too! I am sorry to hear that not everyone gets that experience. I don't think I would do as well if I couldn't see the demo done the right way first.

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Specializes in Ortho, Neuro, Detox, Tele.

We are shown the demo in class, that what allows us to sign up for a demo time. If you sign up for say SubQ before it's demoed, then your time is canceled and you have to resign for a time after that. I'm going out to school Monday and looking for some closer times for demos, as my injections aren't until the 30th, but if we get them done before next week, we may be giving some flu shots during clinical.

We see most skills once, but very generally. We have to demo skill, explaining all the way through, in front of instructor, then get skills book checked off. We have a clinical card with skills we have to get signed off before end of each semester to pass, and a skills book which gets signed after each demo that we have to bring in in 2 years when doing our graduation analysis.

It is helpful when you can see an instructor. Tough to get it just out of a book...

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Cotton, is that you? If so, it's Myself! (and if that's not you I'm sure I sound crazy about now)

Our skills lab is largely self taught as well. There were a lot of complaints when they first switched over so now they have instructors a little more available to answering questions.

I've done it both ways, and I honestly didn't get a whole lot out of watching someone else do it that I don't get from Mosby videos.

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students sign up for skills demonstrations. Those students are responsible for demonstrating the skill. This is usually done on Tuesday. Two Thursdays later, we are tested on that skill. We never get to see an experienced instructor perform the skill, and this is somewhat frustrating to me.

so...are you saying the first time a skill is demonstrated to you, it is demonstrated by another student on your track?

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Hi, Myself! It's me, cotton. :)

jov, that is what I'm saying. Some students have complained, and the instructors said that we will never see an instructor showing us how to perform a skill. We are supposed to put our little noggins to work and figure it out ourselves.

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the instructors said that we will never see an instructor showing us how to perform a skill.

what do your instructors do then, sit in the teacher's lounge, drinking coffee?

sux. I think I would hit the video skill sites on-line pretty hard. I would also discourage other students from coming to your school. Maybe you can ask to be the guest speaker on orientation day?

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Cardiac, ICU.

Wow, it amazes me how little instruction some of the schools give their students.

We have a skills lab day once per week and mine is 8:30-10:20. We have readings to do the night before and videos to watch and every class meeting there is a quiz that is a good part of our grade. After the quiz, we talk about the skill to be done and we have it performed for us by the instructor and then a student volunteers ( or not) to perform it. then we all go to the different dummies and do it.

Our labs are pretty good, the dummies, talk, cough, have heartbeats, and bp's, they have trach's, and wounds, and you can insert cath's in them. One of our dummies even has lung sounds, adventicious (sp) and regular, as well as lung sounds and irregular heartbeats you can program into it.

We also have papers to write about one particular skill, but it's only 2 pages long. We also have practice hours available.

For testing, we do three mandatory and two regular CPE's and as long as we do everything that's on the check off list, we pass. We get two tries to get it right and I don't know of any student that's come up with me to fail the second time.

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