Important Rules State Skills Exam Flashcards
What is the most important component for the State Skills Exam?
Knowing all parts of the critical steps for each skill!
Not doing it = FAILS
To pass the skills exam, what must you do?
All parts of steps must be done accurately
It is order dependent!
Each step of the skill you must know what…?
All the minor details for each step even if they are literal.
Who performs the skills?
YOU
Not the patient!!!!
Remember in real life – patients like the elderly need of full assistance cannot help.
What is most important thing you can do while doing each of skill?
Speak LOUDLY which helps you do the step and let the tester know that you are doing the steps.
Also, to make you feel confident,
What should you NEVER do?
DO NOT over expose the body on each skill.
DO NOT leave the patient uncovered and walk way
Only uncover the part you are working on
Blankets should cover the chest.
If you see clothes = its Skin
What should you always do before you start ending steps or cleaning up supplies?
Take care of the patient
What should you NEVER do in doing skills?
FAKE steps!
What is the most important step in the ending process?
Hand washing! which is always state OUT-LOUD at specific times like:
a. At the end of each skill as the last step
b. Just before recording a measurement
c. Every time the gloves come off and are thrown away
What is the important aspect of gloves?
Always remove like this 1- graded step
a. Grab the palm of one glove and remove and ball up in the hand
b. DO NOT pinch both sides of cuff
c. DO NOT contaminate hands at any point
What should you watch for while doing skills?
Skills are very literal
Key words: First, Last, then, now throughly washed, before or after.
When do you need to wear gloves?
Required for ALL water skills
Always go on when getting supplies
Always go on BEFORE touching the patient or bedding
Always taken off AFTER all clean up is done
Always come BEFORE ending steps are done
What is the rule for gloves?
if the gloves are not put on or taken off at the right time, the tester tells you to take them off or put on and you have missed a step and cannot fix it
TIP: Always turn and check the table to see if the supplies are cleaned up then remove gloves
What are the safety rules?
- Always have the bed at a safe level:
lock brakes
lower bed height
put foot of bed flat before getting the Patient out of bed on skills - Always set up wheelchair fully BEFORE you sit the patient on the side of bed
- Always put shoes on BEFORE you sit the patient up
- Lock the brakes at the end of skill before leaving patient
- Always bend from the knees instead of the back
- Lower the head FLAT when working with leg and foot
- Put side rail up on the opposite side when rolling the patient
What are the rules of the body?
- Always roll the patient when bed is flat and the patient head is not up to roll
- Support the joint: Hands are always under joint and don’t move hands from under the joint EVER
- Support the limb: Always lift the limb from under, giving it support
What are the 5 measurement skills that you might be tested on? What is important for them?
- Radial Pulse
- Respiratory Rate
- Blood Pressure
- Urine Output
- Weight
Steps are in order
Important to wash your hands before documenting last!
What is the important aspects of Infection Control?
- Always put dirty/used supplies in the “Dirty Supply Area” NOT the Clean Area
- Always keep clean and dirty equipment away from Uniform, Don’t hold items against yourself
- Always keep hands and gloves off of face
- NEVER use supplies dropped on the floor, dig linens back out of hamper or dig trash/gloves back out of the trash
- Always put linens inside hamper or trash in trashcan - don’t throw linens
- NEVER put hands down into trash or hamper
What is important in the Water Skills?
All Require Gloves
- Always check temperature and have the patient check the temperature
- Always dry with a new, clean dry towel NOT wash cloth
- Can use a towel as a bed pad CANNOT dry with a chux
What are Mannequin skills?
Perineal Care
Catheter Care
Elastic Stocking
Can you fix your mistakes during the skills exam?
YES
Fix a mistake as soon as you realize you made it
Fix something when you are wondering if you did it right the 1st time
All steps can be fixed EXCEPT gloves on or gloves off step where tester told you to put on or take off gloves
How can you fix the mistake?
State you missed a step or forgot something – demo the step correctly.
Say where the step should have been, before, or after which step - then go back to step you were on before
DO NOT REPEAT WHOLE SKILL
What should do before you “I have completed the skill?”
Stop and think about what you did
Remember: You CANNOT go back and do a step after saying you completed the skill
How can you pass the skills exam?
- Must perform skills with all order dependent steps in order
- Must be perform all small details in each step
- Must know every critical step and all required components of each critical step
- Repetition of all skills practice is REQUIRED to pass skills final and state exam ——- LOTS of PRACTICE
- Practice 2-3 skills per night. Read over each step in detail
- Every skill (even the easy ones) needs much practice in the 3 weeks before the state exam
- NEVER assume any skill is too easy & does not require much, much practice
- Watch skills video: Students who pass the skills exam routinely watch skills videos & practice all skills frequently and repetitively with focus on mastering the small graded details of each step
- Open labs: Attend extra practices before skill exam and the state exam those who tend to pass the exam
- You will forget things when not in class anymore. Open lab practice calms your anxiety prior to state exam and keeps your skills mastery current
How to fail the State Skills Exam?
- Run of time — Don’t complete all 5 skills
- Miss a critical step wrong, or not to do ALL parts of the critical step CORRECTLY.. Students often fail for missing a small part of a critical step, a small detail that counts
- Miss more than 1 step in each skill
- Missing any step in a measurement skill or PPE
- Miss the same thing over and over, like stated hand-washing during the 5 skills
