Skills to learn in nursing school?

Karen · Jul 9, 2005

Its been 20 years since I have been in school and now I teach nursing. I definitely think you want to take every opportunity to practice skills over and over again in the lab and in clinical volunteer for everything. If you are in facilities that have trauma patients they are great because they have everything wrong and tubes etc. alot of learning. I still remember a guy I took care of in school that I learned so much from because he had a trach, tube feedings, wounds, fractures, and on and on. Its so much better to do things many times with an instructor around than to rush through lab trying to get out early or hope for the easy patients in clinical and end up doing many skills for the 1st or 2nd time after you have graduated. If you have practiced something in the lab 6 times you will be able to do it in clinical. If you practiced once or twice in the lab you will be a mess in clinical when it is a real patient and the equipment is slightly different.

purplemania, BSN, RN · Jul 9, 2005

It is not the hands-on skills you need to worry about. You will easily learn those as you do them. What you need to learn is to always question why something is happening and what COULD happen next and what are you going to do about it. Learn how to really listen to the heart and lungs. Really look at the patient. Touch the patient. Look UNDER the covers and take off socks. This takes time, but evaluating the patient's condition, or change in condition, is really what nursing is all about. Oh, and listening too. Good luck.