Clinical Skills for Nurses

A handy introduction to the essential practical procedures that nurses need to know

Clinical Skills for Nurses is designed to help student nurses understand the practice of common clinical skills and procedures in various healthcare environments, from the acute hospital ward to the community setting. Written by a highly experienced nurse and Practice Development Trainer, this pocket-sized guide covers 16 clinical skills in an accessible, step-by-step format. Numerous activities and exercises build your confidence and competence, whilst end-of-chapter questions test your understanding of intravenous therapy, tracheotomy care, bowel care, early patient assessment and response, basic life support, and more.

Now in its second edition, Clinical Skills for Nurses provides new and updated material throughout, including information about the PUREWICK female external catheter, constipation, moisture lesions, Aseptic Non-Touch Technique (ANTT), and the National Early Warning Score (NEWS2). This edition also includes more ‘Test Your Knowledge’ questions, new links to internet resources, and coverage of four additional clinical skills: stoma care, continence care, anaphylaxis, and performing an electrocardiogram (ECG).

• Reflects the current NMC standards for pre-registration education and the Essential Skills Clusters
• Provides the underpinning knowledge of how each clinical skill should be performed
• Features valuable tips, hints, and advice from real-life student nurses
• Includes numerous examples drawn from a variety of real-world nursing and healthcare scenarios
• Contains a wealth of learning tools, including glossary boxes, key points, learning outcomes, illustrations, tables, and graphs

Developed by nursing students for nursing students, Clinical Skills for Nurses, Second Edition is a must-have guide for all student nurses as well as newly qualified or more experienced nurses looking to refresh their knowledge of clinical skills.

Claire Boyd was Practice Development Trainer in the Learning and Research Centre at North Bristol Healthcare Trust. She develops, designs, delivers and evaluates learning programmes, and organises the transition training program for student nurses and support of these nurses in clinical areas.