Book Description

A Skills lab is a learning resource center that provides an environment for learning clinical skills where students can practise without jeopardizing patient care or provoking adverse effects. It reduces the difficulties experienced by students when they first encounter patients in clinical practice. In the skills lab students practise basic and advanced nursing skills supervised by faculty members, or at independent practice time. The designated room for skills lab should have a layout of model ward found in the hospital, accommodating various learning areas and stations according to the learning needs of the students who work in small groups under the supervision of instructors. Within the room there ought to be stations for demonstration of clinical skills by use of a simulated patient, management or task trainer and sitting area for discussion and watching projected procedures. Safety, staffing, skills lab etiquette and care of skills lab equipment is of importance.Various nursing skills are practiced using simulated patients and videos. Interactive lecture sessions, discussions, demonstration of skills, practise on manikins, case studies, presentations, videos are some of the teaching methods used. Students get the opportunity to practise independently, with students' peers, simulated patients, skills lab assistants, and with faculty members until they acquire competent skills and attitude based on the curriculum. For effective learning in skills lab the student must apply critical creative thinking skills as well as, clinical reasoning and decision making skills. Debriefing process is conducted at the end of the session to give the student time to reflect, discuss the simulation experience, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate their action. Objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) is used for assessment of clinical competence in which the components of competence are assessed in a planned or structured way with attention being paid to the objectivity of the evaluation.