Essential Clinical Skills for Nurses

This little book is an ideal clinical skills reference for nursing students and junior health care practitioners. Its easy to navigate design and step-by-step approach allows for information to be accessed quickly to help students review skills while on placement and prepare for their OSCE exams.

This little book is an ideal clinical skills reference for nursing students and junior health care practitioners. Its easy to navigate design and step-by-step approach allows for information to be accessed quickly to help students review skills while on placement and prepare for their OSCE exams. Essential equipment tick lists helps ensure students know what they need to perform clinical skills. All fields of nursing are covered with tips throughout to help students support every patient group. Introduces different approaches to performing clinical skills in community and acute settings Helps students and new practitioners feel confident performing the skill in any situation.

Chapter 1: Infection Prevention and Control - Rose Gallagher Hand-washing Using hand sanitizer When to remove your gloves and whyChapter 2: Aseptic Technique and Specimen Collection - Rose Gallagher Principles of asepsis Common steps for the collection of all types of specimen Taking a wound swab Collecting a faeces specimen Collecting a urine specimen Collecting a sputum sample Taking a nasal swab Taking a throat swabChapter 3: Clinical Measurement - Valerie Foley Common steps for all clinical measurements Counting a respiratory rate Measuring SPO2 Measuring a pulse rate Automated blood pressure measurement Manual blood pressure measurement Measuring capillary refill time Measuring body temperature Blood glucose monitoringChapter 4: Pain Management - Ann Kettyle Undertaking a pain assessmentChapter 5: Skin Integrity - Irene Anderson and Catherine Delves-Yates Principles of caring for a patient with a wound Pressure related injuries - quick reference guideChapter 6: Safer Handling of People - Dianne Steele Efficient movement principles A safe way of working when moving a patient Chapter 7: First Aid - Chris Mulryan and Catherine Delves-Yates The recovery position ABCDE summary actions Management of choking AVPU assessmentChapter 8: Medicines Administration - Carol Hall and Catherine Delves-Yates Administering medication (oral or topical route) Administering a subcutaneous injection Administering an intramuscular injection Chapter 9: Assisting Patients with their Nutritional Needs - Kate Goodhand and Jane Ewen Common steps for all nutrition-related skills Weighing a patient Assisting a patient to eat and drink Passing a nasogastric tube Confirmation of position of a nasogastric tube Maintaining a nasogastric tube Removing a nasogastric tube Caring for a PEG (pertcutaneous endoscopic gastronomy) Stoma care Peripheral vascular cannula care Chapter 10: Assisting Patients with their Elimination Needs - Mairead Collie, David J. Hunter and Valerie Foley Common steps for all elimination-related skills Assessing bowel function Assisting a patient to use a bedpan, urinal or commode Performing catheter care Emptying a patient's catheter bag UrinalysisChapter 11: Assisting Patients with their Hygiene Needs - Catherine Delves-Yates Common steps for all hygiene procedures Bathing a patient in bed Shaving Teeth-cleaning Assisting a patient with a wash (out of bed) Trimming nails Washing a patient's hair in bedChapter 12: Performing Last Offices - Jean Shapcott Performing last offices