Nursing Competency Checklist: What Do I Need to Know?

The nursing profession is one of the most respected fields in the country right now. Nursing students are expected to have completed a competency checklist in order to graduate, which reflects their learned abilities. Here are just some of the skills you will be expected to master before you graduate.

Critical Skills in Nursing

Before you are able to graduate from nursing school, you must learn and perform vital activities, which are required day-to-day in that profession. Anyone who is considering a future in nursing should know that they would be required to complete their preceptor checklist. Some of the items, which are required on the checklist, include:

• Vital Signs: Learn pulse rate as well as sites, and the quality of respiration and respiratory rate. Taking blood pressure via electronic blood pressure sensor and manual Auscultation. Taking temperature through oral, rectal, axillary, and tympanic methods.
• Genitourinary: Removal and insertion of a straight catheter and indwelling catheter insertion and removal, and perineal care.
• Orthopedic/Vascular care: Use of anti-embolism stockings and TED hose. Students also learn how to apply an Ace wrap properly as well as the use of a Doppler, staple, and suture removal, changing of dressings, wound irrigation, and pin care.
• Infection control: Students cover hand washing, sterile and clean gloving, and sterile field and surgical scrub.
• Nutrition: Gastrostomy, enteral, and gravity feedings.
• Mental health: Mental status exam, as well as cover therapeutic communication skills. Other subjects covered include behavioral modification, suicide risk evaluation, and violence risk evaluation.
• Bowel elimination: Care of an ostomy pouch, skin care of stoma/peristomal, and application and selection of the ostomy appliance.
• Comfort Measures: Bed making while occupied and unoccupied, as well as ID and allergy band.
• Toileting: Students cover the use of a bedpan, as well as the use of a urinal.
• Immobility and mobility positioning: Body mechanics, use of restraints, safety devices, and transferring and turning patients. Students also cover assisted ambulation, and the use of crutches, wheelchairs, canes, and walkers.
• IV Therapy: Tube priming and how to regulate flow, site care, insertion, peripheral IV care, CVP catheter maintenance, peripheral IV insertion, care and removal, IV bag and tube changes, and the use of infusion devices. Other skills include hep-lock saline flush, IV medication, IV piggyback medications, inflammation and infiltration assessment, and total parenteral nutrition.
• Respiratory Care: Use of pulse oximeters, deep breathing and turn and cough, correct use of Ambu bag and mask, supplemental oxygen application, use of nebulizers, incentive spirometry, drainage of a closed chest tube, care of chest tube insertion site, tracheostomy maintenance.
• Specimen collection: Skills include phlebotomy, stool specimens, hemocult blood test, glucose testing, and cholesterol testing.
• Tubes and drains: Nasogastric tube insertion, maintenance, as well as drainage collection and use of JP drains and hemovacs.
• Assessment: Students learn pain assessment tools, controlled analgesia, relaxation techniques, as well as body positioning.
• Safe medication preparation and administration: Students master skills associated with the administration of oral medication, topical medication, eye drops, ointments, nose drops, nasal inhalers and sprays, subcutaneous and intramuscular injections.
• Community skills: These skills include learning height and weight of children, screening for pediculosis, hearing and vision screening, dental, scoliosis screening, and growth charts.
• Critical care skills: Set up and sampling of arterial lines, maintenance of pulmonary artery catheter, leveling and zeroing transducer, pressure reading, EKG, and Ventilator checks.

Some of the most important parts of the checklist are learning to have an excellent bedside manner, as well as learning how to deal with each individual patient and keep their special needs in mind. Each student will have a chance to learn through classroom instruction and hands-on experience.

How Will I Be Able to Learn All of the Needed Skills?

Sound overwhelming? It most certainly is.

Keep in mind, you will have a great deal of time to learn and practice all of these skills. No one expects you to walk in on your first day of nursing school with these requirements down pat. It’s important to take your time, ask questions if you get stuck, and learn along with your classmates. You might find yourself mastering your competencies before you know it.

Are you interested in becoming a nurse? If you are ready to take the next step and earn your Associate of Applied Science in Nursing, consider ECPI University. With accelerated classes and a year-round schedule, you could find yourself graduating sooner and looking for work in your field faster. For more information, connect with a helpful admissions counselor today.

It could be the Best Decision You Ever Make!

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