skills for fundamentals

Mrs.Priss · Jun 1, 2012

I'm also interested in the responses as I'm about to start this in fall... Any tips/suggestions would be Great!

QuarterLife88, MSN, RN, NP · Jun 1, 2012

We were checked off on handwashing, vitals (b.p., respirations, and pulse), foley catheters, and medication administration - these last two were by far the most nerve wracking (sterile field with the catheters and drawing up medication in the syringes without air bubbles all within the strict time constraint while an instructor stares at you, stone-faced *shudders at the memories*). You prepare by taking your self to open lab as much as you can until you can do the routine in your sleep. A failing grade resulted in have to come back and repeat the check off for a possible one or two points, but no one wants to do it again.

tip: Ditch the anxiety at the door. You can't think if you're too nervous. I just learned this myself, and I'm a third semester student.

eta: We did have more skills we practiced - bed making, sterile dressing changes, ng tubes, transfer of patients, focused assessments, etc., but we were only checked off on the ones above.

SonOfStBenedict · Jun 1, 2012

Congrats on getting in! There are about 9 or 10 skills; Handwashing, bed making(occupied & unoccupied), bed bath, vitals, foley catheter(male and female), enema(3 types), meds(PO[oral], IM, ID and SubQ injections), NG Tube insertion and feeding, and wound care.... I think that's all of them the most nerve racking for me was Foley cath being that it is a sterile procedure well any sterile procedure makes me a little nervous.. Alway thinking about breaking the field, but I had very patient and thorough teachers that understood us and took everything step by step. At my school if you don't pass the written skills exam or the Actual skills performance you have one more chance and if you don't pass the second time you are released from the program. Critical errors can cause you to fail Skills Performance like missing BP or pulse +/- 4 points, respirations +/- 2, breaking sterile field and not realizing it, not checking pt armband & asking pt to state their name/dob, not checking NG tube placement by auscultating.... And our Written Skills was 50 questions 78 to pass... Just study and watch the videos on the cd that your book comes with if that's available to you. Good luck with 1st semester!!

annbabol · Nov 19, 2012

I am working as a home health nurse and I am charting in narrative way if my plan of visit is for DM management what would I include in my narrative documentation please do help me. thank you very much.

Skips, MSN, RN · Nov 19, 2012

Well, let me tell you!

In my fundamentals class, we checked off:

(not in order...can't remember the order.)

vital signs

Trach care and suctioning

head to toe assessment and medication administration

inserting a foley catheter

wet to dry dressing change

applying a wrist restraint and positioning a client in bed

I think that's it. I can't remember if we did more than that or not. We pretty much had a check-off every week or every other week. We had them often, and my heart was beating hard for every single one of them. On the tracheostomy care and suctioning, I was so nervous...that skill just had me for some reason, but I passed.

Just feign confidence and stay sterile, if it's a sterile procedure. Those are the two hardest things, in my opinion.

Make sure you know your 6 rights of medication administration.

Just do it, and do it well.

FDW630 · Nov 19, 2012

Wow...real stuff! Our fundamentals course is given as a prerequisite to the program, so we didnt do anything too exciting. We did handwashing, PPE, vitals, bed making, specimen collection, discontinuing foleys, oxygen, bandaging, restraints, transers and positioning, pt hygiene, hot/cold pack therapy. Not in that order. We function as CNAs in clinicals.

Skips, MSN, RN · Nov 19, 2012

I just realized this thread is from last summer. Oops. Maybe other people will find this stuff helpful!