Foundation Clinical Nursing Skills

Charles Docherty, Senior Lecturer in Nursing at Glasgow Caledonian University. He provides strategic direction to practice-based learning in the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Community Health. He has published on the acquisition of clinical skills in simulated environments and his doctoral studies focused on how mentors assess nursing students' clinical performance. Jacqueline McCallum, is Senior Lecturer in Clinical Simulation at Caledonian University. She teaches modules in clinical skills, adult nursing and critical care. She specialises in skills and simulation education, including the use of actors and 'mid-fidelity' simulators as patients. Having spent eleven years as a cardiac nurse, Jacqueline has written numerous articles on cardiac and critical care nursing, as well as skills acquisition.

1. INTRODUCTION ; 2. MANDATORY SKILLS ; 2.1 Communication ; 2.2 Moving and Handling ; 2.3 Therapeutic Management of Aggression and Violence ; 2.4 Infection Prevention and Control ; 2.5 Resuscitation ; 2.6 Administration of medicines ; 3. MAINTAINING A SAFE ENVIRONMENT ; 3.1 Falls prevention and risk assessment ; 3.2 Skin assessment ; 3.3 Pain assessment ; 3.4 Neurological assessment ; 3.5 Early warning signs for critical illness ; 4. COMMUNICATING ; 4.1 Verbal and nonverbal communication skills ; 4.2 Listening and observation skills ; 4.3 Engaging skills ; 4.4 Interviews and questioning ; 4.5 Written communication ; 4.6 Telephone communication ; 4.7 The context in which communication occurs ; 5. BREATHING ; 5.1 Assessment of breathing ; 5.2 Positioning the patient to facilitate breathing ; 5.3 Using oxygen therapy to facilitate the patient's breathing ; 5.4 Observation of cough and sputum ; 6. EATING AND DRINKING ; 6.1 Nutritional assessment ; 6.2 Assistance with eating ; 6.3 Providing special diets ; 6.4 Caring for a patient suffering from vomiting or nausea ; 6.5 Fluid balance ; 7. ELIMINATING ; 7.1 Assessment ; 7.2 Urinalysis ; 7.3 Catheter care ; 7.4 Assisting patients to use bedpans, commodes and urinals ; 7.5 Collecting stool specimens and testing for faecal occult blood ; 8. PERSONAL CLEANSING AND DRESSING ; 8.1 Skin care ; 8.2 Showering and bathing ; 8.3 Washing a patient in bed ; 8.4 Shaving ; 8.5 Hair care ; 8.6 Eye care ; 8.7 Mouth care ; 8.8 Dressing ; 8.9 Wound assessment ; 8.10 Aseptic technique ; 8.11 Removal of sutures, staples and clips ; 8.12 Total patient care ; 9. CONTROLLING BODY TEMPERATURE ; 9.1 Assessing body temperature ; 9.2 Facilitating the control of body temperature ; 10. MOBILIZING ; 10.1 Patient assessment ; 10.2 Recognizing and preventing the major complications of immobility ; 10.3 Recognizing and selecting common handling aids ; 10.4 Practical handling of bedbound patients ; 10.5 Positioning the patient in a chair ; 10.6 Performing a range of motion exercises ; 10.7 Managing more complex mobilizing needs ; 11. WORKING AND PLAYING ; 11.1 Assessing developmental stage for play ; 11.2 Selecting suitable play and recreational activities for patients ; 12. DYING ; 12.1 Communication with the patient and relatives ; 12.2 Communication skills in assessing the patient with advanced disease ; 12.3 Oral care ; 12.4 Assessment and management of pain ; 12.5 Last offices