Foundations of Nursing - Module 3: Introduction to Nursing and Basic Nursing Skills

Student Learning Outcomes for Module 3

  • Upon successful completion of Module 3, the learner will be able to apply comprehensive knowledge of the nursing profession to client care. This includes understanding the historical influences that have shaped nursing.
  • The learner will demonstrate the ability to utilize the nursing process as a framework for obtaining a thorough health history.
  • The learner will be proficient in gathering vital signs assessment data, integrating this information into the nursing process.

Overview of Introduction to Nursing and Basic Nursing Skills

  • Nursing is identified and defined as a professional practice with a rich history that informs contemporary standards.
  • The American Nurses Association’s (ANA) Roles of Nursing are defined to provide a framework for professional expectations.
  • The module covers the basic process of data collection for a nursing history.
  • Detailed instruction is provided for the assessment of vital signs, which are critical indicators of a client’s physiological status.

Comprehensive Theory Objectives

  • Define Nursing as a Profession: Establishing the criteria and characteristics that distinguish nursing as a professional discipline.
  • Major Contributors to Practice: Discussing the historical figures and leaders who have significantly influenced nursing practice.
  • Influences on Contemporary Nursing: Identifying the current factors that shape how nursing is practiced today.
  • The Nursing Process: Describing the nursing process as the essential foundation for all nursing practice.
  • Concept of Caring: Describing caring not just as a feeling, but as an integral, active part of professional nursing practice.
  • Psychomotor Skills for Data Collection: Describing how nurses employ basic psychomotor skills to gather physiological and historical data for use in clinical practice.
  • Client Needs and Safety: Identifying the specific psychomotor skills required to assess client needs while maintaining a safe environment for both the nurse and the client.
  • Vital Signs Importance: Describing the physiological importance and the role of vital signs in the overall assessment of a patient.
  • Temperature: Describing the importance and clinical significance of assessing body temperature.
  • Pulse-Heart Rate: Describing the importance of assessing cardiac rate and rhythm.
  • Respirations: Describing the importance of assessing the rate, depth, and character of breathing.
  • Blood Pressure: Describing the physiological significance of blood pressure and the importance of its assessment.
  • Blood Oxygenation: Discussing the measurement of oxygen saturation (SpO2SpO_2) using pulse oximetry.
  • Pain Assessment: Describing pain and identifying it as the "5th vital sign."
  • Standard Precautions: Identifying and explaining the use of Standard Precautions as a primary mechanism for the protection of both the nurse and the client.
  • Nursing History Techniques: Describing the importance of the nursing history interview as a fundamental data collection technique.
  • Delegation in Data Collection: Describing how delegation is used as a means of collecting data and the nurse’s responsibility in that process.

Clinical Objectives and Practical Requirements

  • Evidence of Leadership: Identify evidence of nursing leaders and contributors within contemporary clinical practice settings.
  • Reflection on Practice: Reflect upon the various factors that influence the current state of contemporary nursing.
  • Demonstration of Caring: Interact with an older client in an ambulatory adult care center and demonstrate at least 3 distinct methods of caring.
  • Temperature Assessment: Demonstrate the correct procedure for assessing temperature using four different methods: oral, tympanic, rectal, and axillary.
  • Pulse Assessment: Demonstrate the correct technique for assessing a client’s pulse.
  • Respiration Assessment: Demonstrate the correct technique for assessing a client’s respiratory rate and rhythm.
  • Blood Pressure Assessment: Demonstrate the correct technique for measuring blood pressure.
  • Pain Scale Utilization: Accurately assess a client’s pain level using the standard 1−101-10 Pain Scale.
  • Standard Precautions implementation: Correctly utilize Standard Precautions during the collection of all vital signs.
  • Nursing History Interview: In a clinical or laboratory setting, obtain a nursing history by utilizing a structured Nursing History Interview (Intake Assessment).
  • Role of Unlicensed Personnel: Describe the role and scope of unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) during clinical post-conference discussions.

Required Literary Resources and Textbook Chapters

  • Taylor, C., Lynn, P., & Bartlett, J. L. (2023). Fundamentals of Nursing: The Art and Science of Person-Centered Care (10th ed.). Wolters Kluwer Health.
    • Chapter 1: Introduction to Nursing and Professional Formation (pp. 4−164-16, 21−2321-23).
    • Chapter 25: Asepsis and Infection Control (pp. 673−687673-687).
    • Chapter 26: Vital Signs.
  • Lynn, P. (2023). Taylor’s Clinical Nursing Skills (6th ed.). Wolters Kluwer Health.
    • Includes access to interactive eBooks, learning modules, Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) journal articles, Stedman’s Medical Dictionary, and practice cases.
    • Chapter 1: Asepsis and Infection Control.
    • Chapter 2: Vital Signs.

Learning Activities, Multimedia, and Interactive Modules

  • Concepts in Action Animations:
    • Cardiac Cycle.
    • Hypertension.
    • Myocardial Blood Flow.
  • Vital Signs Videos:
    • Introduction to Vital Signs.
    • Measuring an Apical Pulse.
    • Measuring Oral Temperature, Radial Pulse, Respiratory Rate, & Blood Pressure.
    • Assessing Blood Pressure Using an Automatic Electronic Device.
    • Assessing Systolic Blood Pressure Using a Doppler Ultrasound.
    • Measuring Blood Pressure and Pulse to Assess for Orthostatic Hypotension.
    • Measuring Tympanic, Rectal, and Axillary Temperatures.
    • Measuring an Apical-Radial Pulse.
  • Asepsis and Infection Control Videos:
    • Introduction to Asepsis.
    • Performing Hand Hygiene.
    • Putting on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
    • Removing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
    • Removing Soiled Gloves.
    • Removing Personal Protective Equipment in an Unexpected Situation.

Evidence-Based Practice and Journal Article Readings

  • Temperature and Thermoregulation:
    • Axillary and Tympanic Temperature Measurement in Children and Normal Values for Ages (2018).
    • A Web-Based Nursing Education for Thermoregulation (2021).
    • Comparative Accuracy Testing of Non-contact Infrared Thermometers and Temporal Artery Thermometers in an Adult Hospital Setting (2021).
    • Improving Thermoregulation for Trauma Patients in the Emergency Department: An Evidence-Based Practice Project (2018).
  • Leadership and Professionalism:
    • Mindfulness: A Necessary Leadership Competency (2022).
    • Nurse Leadership Style, Nurse Satisfaction, and Patient Satisfaction: A Systematic Review (2018).
    • Learning Delegation Through Role-Play: A Problem-Based Learning Activity for Nursing Students (2021).
  • Vital Signs and Clinical Outcomes:
    • The Effect of Healing Touch on Critical Care Patients' Vital Signs: A Pilot Study (2020).
    • Implementation of a Vital Sign Alert System to Improve Outcomes (2018).
  • Infection Control and Hygiene:
    • The Effects of Social Influence on Nurses' Hand Hygiene Behaviors (2018).
    • Infection Prevention and Control Core Practices: A Roadmap for Nursing Practice (2019).
    • The Effect of Infection Control Course on Nursing Students' Knowledge of and Compliance with Universal Precautions: A Quasi-experimental Study (2019).
    • Characteristics of Inpatient Units Associated with Sustained Hand Hygiene Compliance (2021).

Nursing Skills Checklists and Instructor Tools

  • Skill 2-1: Assessing Body Temperature.
  • Skill 2-2: Regulating Temperature Using an Overhead Radiant Warmer.
  • Skill 2-3: Regulating Temperature Using a Hypothermia Blanket.
  • Skill 2-4: Assessing a Peripheral Pulse by Palpation.
  • Skill 2-5: Assessing the Apical Pulse by Auscultation.
  • Skill 2-6: Assessing Respiration.
  • Skill 2-7: Assessing Blood Pressure by Auscultation.

Instructional Methods and Collaborative Learning

  • Lecture and Group Discussion strategies used to deliver theoretical content.
  • Ticket to Class Assignments: Prerequisites for attending live sessions.
  • Flipping the Classroom: Shifting direct instruction to individual learning spaces to allow for dynamic, interactive group learning.
  • Unfolding Case Studies: Progressive scenarios that require students to apply knowledge as a patient's condition changes.
  • Collaborative Learning: Pre and post-interactive learning activities designed for student collaboration.