VNSG1323 – BASIC NURSING SKILLS

INSTRUCTORS: Graham: Nicholas Bixby, LVN and Laverne Jennings, LVN

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Mastery of entry level nursing skills and competencies for a variety of health care settings. Utilization of the nursing process as the foundation for all nursing interventions.

TEXTBOOKS:

Elsevier (2014). Fundamental Concepts and Skills for Nursing 

Vocational Nursing Student Handbook. North Central Texas College. August 2017.

OTHER RESOURCES:

Completion of training modules and viewing of training videos from the ATI website (www.atitesting.com) as assigned by your instructor.

GRADING: Average of unit examinations (six written exams/check off exam)…70%

Daily grades…………………………………………………………5%

Final Exam…………………………………………………………..25%

Remediation: Remediation assignments, as assigned by your instructor(s), will be required for a grade below 80% on any unit exam.

Laboratory Practice: Students will be given ample opportunity to practice in the skills laboratory as arranged by the instructors. Some of the time will be supervised, and the student may also be allowed unsupervised time to practice skills. Practice time should be utilized wisely as it will be limited. Each student will be required to spend a minimum of 3 hours in the lab practicing skills each week. The lab will be open 8:00am-4:30pm M-TH and 8:00am-12:00pm F.

Laboratory Check-Offs: There will be scheduled laboratory check-offs throughout the course in order to evaluate the student’s ability to perform basic skills safely and correctly. These check-offs will consist of twenty-five (25) different skills on several different check-off days. Each skill will be timed based on the complexity of the skill. At the end of the semester, all the points earned from successfully passing the check off will be added together to equal one (1) exam grade. The check-offs will consist of the following skills:

#1 Handwashing/Isolation PPE/Sterile Gloving/Oral Care

#2 Bedmaking/bedbathing/range-of-motion/positioning/transfers

#3 Vital signs

#4 Assessments

#5 NG tube insertion and feeding/Enema/Foley Catheter

#6 Tracheostomy care and Suctioning/Sterile Dressing

#7 Parenteral and enteral medication administration

Each skill will be scored individually. There will be no more than three (3) attempts for a skills check-off. If the student successfully passed the check-off the 1^st attempt, the student will receive four (4) points. If the student fails the 1^st attempt, no points will be received and the student will be granted a 2^nd attempt with an instructor. If the student successfully passes the 2^nd attempt, the student will receive 2 points. If the student fails the 2^nd attempt, no points will be received and a 3^rd attempt will be granted at the check-off with two (2) instructors. If the student successfully passes the third attempt, zero (0) points will be received. If the student fails the 3^rd attempt, the student will be immediately dismissed from the VN program and given a failing grade. A copy of the skills point sheet is provided at the end of this syllabus.

Written Examinations: There will be six (6) written examinations throughout the semester. See the Vocational Nursing Student Handbook for academic honesty, testing, and grading specifics.

 

 

 

****There will be NO late work excepted in this course. One make up exam per course is allowed per semester. The date of the make up exam will depend on the instructor’s schedule and availability. We follow Student Handbook guidelines in the Vocational Nursing program, so please be sure to look those over.

 

 

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES: Upon successful completion of VNSG 1323, the student will: (DEC1,2,5,6,8,10,22,25)

• Function within nurse’s scope of practice and in accordance with the policies and procedures.
• Assume responsibility/accountability for the quality of nursing care provided to patients/families.
• Use clinical reasoning/established evidence-based policies as the basis for decision making.
• Assist in determining physical and mental health status/needs/preferences of culturally/ethically/socially diverse patients/families.
• Provide safe, compassionate, basic nursing care to assigned patients.
• Identify and report alterations in patient responses to therapeutic interventions.
• Communicate/collaborate to promote/maintain optimal health status of patients/families.
• Supervise care provided by others for whom the nurse is responsible.

STUDY SKILLS and TIME MANAGEMENT

The Adult Learner

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

• Identify personal areas of strength that will ensure success in the vocational nursing program
• Identify personal areas that could interfere with success in the vocational nursing program
• Discuss personal responsibility for learning and active participation in the learning process
• Identify techniques that increase the degree of concentration in learning situations
• Identify techniques that improve listening skills in learning situations
• Describe the following resources that help you stay current in vocational nursing
• Discuss the benefits of time management for an adult learner
• Define critical thinking
• Explain what is meant by learning style, the 3 major and 4 secondary learning styles
• Identify your personal learning style
• List five characteristics of the right and left side of the brain
• Describe the policies in the Vocational Nursing Student Handbook pertaining to the following:

Attendance, Violations of the policies that will result in dismissal from the program, Appropriate dress in the clinical agency, and Professional behavior

• Define the following terms: Visual, Motivation, Task, Tactual, Organization, Goal, Auditory, Schedule, Objective, Stress, Strategy, Subjective

CONTENT OUTLINE:

I Vocational Nursing Student Handbook

II Adult Learner

III Time Management

IV Learning Styles

REFERENCES: Material in Syllabus

MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

• Dissect the word from the Latin root to determine the meaning of complex medical terminology

LEARNING ACTIVITIES

• Videos
• Textbook

Periodic quizzes will be given by the instructor and counted as daily grades.

 

 

WEEK 1—INTRODUCTION TO NURSING AND THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

                   THE NURSING PROCESS

Learning outcomes:

•                     Define key terms
• Discuss today’s health care system, it’s components, and changes proposed.
• Identify the four areas of human needs and give an example within each level of need.
• Explain legal requirements for the practice of nursing and how they relate to a student nurse.
• Explain the use of the nursing process
• Differentiate between objective and subjective data.
• Discuss the evaluation process and how it correlates with expected outcomes.
• Use a systematic way of charting to ensure that all pertinent information has been included.

Content outline

                       Chapter 1-Nursing and the Health Care System

Chapter 2-Concepts of Health, Illness, Stress, and Health Promotion

Chapter 3-Legal and Ethical Aspects of Nursing

Chapter 4-The Nursing Process and Critical Thinking

Chapter 5-Assessment, Nursing Diagnosis, and Planning

Chapter 6-Implementation and Evaluation

Chapter 7-Documentation of Nursing Care

Chapter 8-Communication and the Nurse-Patient Relationship

                      Chapter 9-Patient Teaching and Health Promotion

                       Chapter 10-Delegation, Leadership, and Time Management

 

 

Student learning activities

• View Power Points and Lecture Notes
• Read the chapters from textbook
• ATI resource as assigned

 

 

 

WEEK 2---INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL, TRANSFERRING PATIENTS, SAFETY

                    BASIC NURSING SKILLS

Skills to master

• Hand washing
• PPE
• Sterile gloving
• Making Occupied Bed
• Bed Bath
• Restraints
• Oral Care

Learning Outcomes:

• Define the key terms
• Compare effective communication techniques with blocks to
• List and differentiate between conditions and factors that can affect learning.
• Discuss techniques of effective time management.
• Demonstrate proper hand hygiene and application of personal protective equipment.
• Demonstrate proper donning of sterile gloves.
• Discuss nursing responsibilities for environmental management.

Content outline

                 Chapter 16-Infection Prevention and Control: Protective Mechanisms and Asepsis

                      Chapter 17-Infection Prevention and Control in the Hospital and Home

                      Chapter 18-Lifting, Moving, and Positioning Patients

                      Chapter 19-Assisting with Hygeine, Personal Care, Skin Care, and Prevention of Pressure Ulcers

                      Chapter 20-Patient Environment and Safety

                      Chapter 39-Promoting Musculoskeletal Function

Student Learning Activities

• View the Power Points and Lecture Notes
• Read chapters from textbook
• Study guide
• Review and practice the skills in the lab
• ATI resources as assigned

 

WEEK 3—BASIC NURSING SKILLS

Skills to master

• Lifting
• Positioning
• ROM
• Transferring

Learning outcomes:

• Define the key terms
• Demonstrate proficiency at checkoffs for bathing, oral care, ROM, positioning, transfers, bedmaking and Hoyer lift.
• Identify common integumentary disorders.
• Identify the characteristics of good posture is standing, sitting, and lying positions.
• Discuss the benefits of physical exercise.
• Discuss the differences in passive and active exercise.
• Explain the different types of traction, casts, and immobilization techniques used in the healthcare setting.
• Name the different ambulatory aides available to clients

Content outline

Chapter 18-Lifting, Moving, and Positioning Patients

Chapter 19-Assisting with Hygiene, Personal Care, Skin Care, and the Prevention of Pressure Ulcers

Chapter 39-Promoting Musculoskeletal Function

 

Student learning activities

• Review Power Points and Lecture Notes
• Read chapters from textbook
• Review skills and practice in the lab
• Study guide
• ATI resources as assigned

 

 

WEEK 4—BASIC NURSING SKILLS

                    ASSESSMENT, VITAL SIGNS, ADDMITTING, TRANSFERRING, AND DISCHARGING PATIENTS

Skills to master

• Vital signs
• Pulse oximetry
• Physical Assessment

Learning outcomes:

• Define the key terms

• Identify and locate peripheral pulses
• Assess peripheral pulses by palpation
• Assess apical pulse by auscultation
• Demonstrate proper technique in obtaining vital signs—TPR, BP, and Pulse Oximetry—in the lab setting using the proper equipment
• Discuss the factors that may affect the vital signs
• Examine five commonly used complementary and alternative therapies.
• Identify abnormal heart and lung sounds and breathing patterns
• Explain Korotkoff sounds.
• List the purpose of the physical assessment
• Perform a head-to-toe assessment and Measure Vital Signs

 

Content outline

Chapter 21-Measuring Vital Signs

Chapter 22-Assessing Health Status

Chapter 23-Admitting, Transferring, and Discharging Patients

Chapter 31-Pain, Comfort, and Sleep

Chapter 32-Complementary and Alternative Therapies

Student learning activities

• Read the chapter, view Power Points and Lecture Notes
• Review skills and practice in the lab
• Study guide
• ATI resources as assigned

 

 

 

 

 

WEEK 5—BASIC NURSING SKILLS

                                BASIC NUTRITION, DIAGNOSTICS, PROMOTING ELIMINATION

Skills to master

• NG Tube Insertion and Suction
• NG Tube Feeding
• Foley Catheters
• Enema

Learning outcomes:

• Define key terms
• Plan and teach a client group a specific diet
• Utilize the Food Pyramid in planning and implementing the diet plan
• Explain the concept of parenteral nutrition
• Identify the four characteristics of urine
• Explain the procedure for maintaining intake and output for the client
• List the common factors that affect bowel elimination· Define pre- and post-op care
• Develop a teaching plan that includes pre and post-op instructions for the client
• Demonstrate proficiency in feeding a patient, inserting an NG tube, administration of an enema, and insertion of a Foley catheter on both male and female mannequins
• Identify proper placement of the NG tube.

 

 

Content Outline

Chapter 24-Diagnostic Tests and Specimen Collection

Chapter 26-Concepts of Basic Nutrition and Cultural Considerations

Chapter 27-Diet Therapy and Assisted Feeding

Chapter 29-Promoting Urinary Elimination

Chapter 30-Promoting Bowel Elimination

Student learning activities

• Read the chapters, view Power Points and Lecture Notes
• Review skills and practice in the lab
• Study guide
• ATI resources as assigned

 

 

 

 

Week 6—ASSISTING WITH RESPIRATION AND OXYGENATION, SURGICAL PATIENT, WOUND CARE

Skills to master

• Trach Care
• Trach Suctioning

Learning outcomes:

• Define key terms
• Demonstrate proficiency in promoting respiration and oxygenation
• Identify considerations related to the perioperative patient.
• Identify factors contributing to poor respiration and oxygenation of the surgical patient
• Identify signs/symptoms of infection

 

Content outline

                      Chapter 28-Assisting with Respiration and Oxygen Delivery

Chapter 37-Care of the Surgical Patient

Chapter 38-Providing Wound Care and Treating Pressure Ulcers

Student learning activities

• Read the chapters, view Power Points and Lecture Notes
• Review skills
• Study guide
• ATI resources as assigned

 

 

 

 

 

WEEK 7—FLUIDS, ELECTROLYTES, MEDICATION ADMINISTRATION

Skills to master

• Wound care
• Dressing Changes
• Oxygen therapy

Learning outcomes:

• Define key terms
• Name the eight rights of medication administration
• Name the three checks for preventing medication errors
• Explain the proper technique for administration of eye and ear drops to adults and children
• Explain the following routes-- sublingual, buccal, rectal, vaginal, cutaneous, topical
• Explain the differences in the inhalers and aerosols
• Demonstrate reconstitution of a powder in a vial
• Correctly compute medication dosages using known formulas and techniques learned in Med-Math
• Develop a knowledge of frequently used medications by writing drug cards
• Discuss age-related issues common to medication administration
• Discuss the focus of postoperative care for the vocational nurse on the surgical unit
• Explain first-, second- and third-intention healing of wounds.
• Demonstrate proper technique in the administration of PO, IM, and subcutaneous meds.
• Correctly identify sites for IM and subcutaneous injections.
• Describe Z-tracking
• Demonstrate correct choice of needle and syringe
• Demonstrate correct technique in the mixing of insulins in one syringe
• Explain the reasons for choosing to administer a drug by the IV route
• Demonstrate reconstitution of a powder in a vial

 

Content outline

Chapter 25-Fluid, Electrolyte, and Acid-Base Balance

Chapter 33-Pharmacology and Preparation for Drug Administration

Chapter 34-Administering Oral, Topical, and Inhalant Medications

Chapter 35-Administering Intradermal, Subcutaneous, and Intramuscular Injections

Chapter 36-Administering Intravenous Solutions and Medications

Student learning activities

• Read the chapters, view Power Points and Lecture Notes
• Review skills in the lab
• Study guide
• ATI resources as assigned

 

 

 

 

 

WEEK 8—DEVELOPMENTAL, PSYCHOSOCIAL, CULTURAL CONSIDERATIONS, CARING FOR THE ELDERLY

Skills to master

• Enteral medications
• Nebulizer
• Parenteral Medications

Learning outcomes:

• Define key terms
• State Developmental aspects of caring for the patient
• State psychosocial aspects of caring for the patient
• State cultural considerations related to patient care
• State considerations in caring for the elderly patient

 

 

Content Outline

Chapter 11-Growth and Development: Infancy Through Adolescence

Chapter 12-Adulthood and the Family

Chapter 14-Cultural and Spiritual Aspects of  Patient Care

Chapter 15-Loss, Grief, and the Dying Patient

Chapter 40-Common Physical Care Problems of the Elderly

Chapter 41-Common Psychosocial Care Problems of the Elderly

 

 

Student Learning Activities

• Read the chapters, view Power Points and Lecture Notes
• Review skills and practice in the lab
• Study guide
  • ATI resources as assigned

 

WEEK 9—ORIENTATION TO CLINICAL FACILITY.  COMPLETE CHECK-OFFS

Skills to master

• Glucometer

Learning outcomes:

• Define key terms
• Correctly compute medication dosages using known formulas and techniques learned in Med-Math
• Develop a knowledge of frequently used medications by writing drug cards
• Discuss age-related issues common to medication administration
  • Define Psychosocial, Developmental, Cultural Considerations related to patient care

 

Content Outline

• Complete assigned check-offs/re-checks.
• Orientation to Clinical Facility
• Prepare for first clinical rotation

 

 

 

The Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) provides accommodations for students who have a documented disability. On the Corinth Campus, go to room 170 or call 940-498-6207. On the Gainesville Campus, go to room 110 or call 940-668-4209.  Students on the Bowie, Graham, Flower Mound, and online campuses should call 940-498-6207.

North Central Texas College is on record as being committed to both the spirit and letter of federal equal opportunity legislation, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, ADA Amendments Act of 2009, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (P.L. 93-112).   http://www.nctc.edu/StudentServices/SupportServices/Disabilityservices.aspx

 

 

North Central Texas College

VNSG 1323 Basic Nursing Skills - Check-off’s

Student____________________________________________________

Skill:	4 points/initials	2 points/initials	0 points/initials
Handwashing
Sterile gloving
Isolation PPE
Bedbath
Oral care
Bedmaking
Range of Motion
Positioning
Transfers
Temperature
Radial pulse
Apical pulse
Respirations
Blood Pressure
Physical Assess
Neuro Assess
Enema
Foley Cath
NG tube insertion
NG tube feeding
Trach care
Trach suctioning
Sterile Dressing
Meds – Parenteral
Meds-Nonparenteral

Final Grade __________________________

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For students in this course who may have a criminal background, please be advised that the background could keep you from being licensed by the State of Texas.  If you have a question about your background and licensure, please speak with your faculty member or department chair.  You also have the right to request a criminal history evaluation letter from the applicable licensing agency.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Instructor Office Hours & Teaching Schedule

Name: Nicholas Bixby

Department: VN Graham

Department Office Campus Location: Graham

Office: Health Sciences Building

Email: nbixby@nctc.edu

Phone Number: 940-521-0720 ext 7105

Teaching Schedule:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
9:00 to 4:00	9:00 to 4:00	9:00 to 4:00

 

Office Hours:

Office Hour walk-ins accepted Monday thru Wednesday.  By appointment only Thursday and Friday

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
8:00 to 9:00	8:00 to 9:00	8:00 to 9:00	8:00 to 4:00	9:00 to 12:00