Skills Lab Testing Remediation Policy

Definition: Required practice for all unsuccessful skill testing (check-offs).

Guidelines: Students must successfully complete the nursing skills check-off by obtaining the number of required points per skill as identified on form.

Consequences of unsuccessful completion of a skill check-off are as follows:

Required practice
Repeat testing (maximum 3 attempts)

Remediation Steps

If unsuccessful

1st Attempt –

Mandatory 1-hour (minimum) practice with skills lab Director.
Student must complete a written one-paragraph reflection including identifying the potential/actual implications the unsuccessful performance would have on the patient outcomes. The student must include a reference related to the unsuccessful portion of the skill (i.e. effects of the medication errors, increased costs due to nosocomial infection, etc.). The reference can be from a professional journal, nursing reference book or textbook.
Student must submit the reflection when returning to repeat.

2nd Attempt -

Mandatory remediation with clinical faculty or lab Director 1 hour (minimum) and/or receives counseling for testing anxiety, if applicable.
Student must complete a written one-paragraph reflection including identifying the potential/actual implications the unsuccessful performance would have on the patient outcomes. The student must include a reference related to the unsuccessful portion of the skill (i.e. effects of the medication errors, increased costs due to nosocomial infection, etc.). The reference can be from a professional journal, nursing reference book or textbook.
Must have reflection and signed form from anxiety counseling and/or remediation provider when returning to repeat.

3rd Attempt -

If student is unsuccessful after 3rd attempt, there is no remediation and student fails the course.

Example of Completed Reflection: Reflection—Urinary Catheterization, Sterile Field

Not following aseptic technique for urinary catheterization can be detrimental to a patient health, wellbeing and even life. Per the CDC "the urinary tract is the most common healthcare acquired infection, accounting for 30% of infections reported by acute care hospitals. Virtually all healthcare associated urinary tract infections (UTIs) are caused by instrumentation of the urinary tract." Transmission of organisms, which can lead to infection, must be avoided by practicing proper aseptic technique. Although I was unaware of breaking sterile field during my catheter check off, I now have a much better understanding of not only what I did wrong, but how to do it correctly.

This knowledge and these skills are important for many reasons. Sterility is what allows a patient to receive the medical treatment necessary without causing adverse medical implications. Reaching over the sterile field contaminates the field by putting it at risk for the possibility of microorganism falling onto it; like sneezing or coughing over sterile field (Potter and Perry). I believe now that I am better prepared and have a better understanding of what I must do as a health care provider to ensure that my patients are at the lowest possible risk for infection.

Works Cited:

Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract (CAUTI) Event. (2012). Retrieved May 4 2012, from http://www.cdc.gov.nhsn

Potter, Patricia A and Perry, Anne G (2009). Fundamentals of Nursing, 7th Edition, St. Louis, Missouri: Mosby Elsevier