Dai Nam Nursing Faculty promotes Skills-lab teaching, students master 55 nursing skills right in school

With the awareness that "patients are the objects of service, not the objects of study" and the training motto "solid knowledge - standard skills - bright future", the Faculty of Nursing, Dai Nam University, especially focuses on developing the Skills-lab teaching method to help students have the opportunity to practice, be guided by hand, and master 55 nursing skills before going to clinical practice at the hospital.

The Workshop on Teaching Methods Skills-lab of the Faculty of Nursing had the participation of Dr. Le Dac Son - Chairman of the Board of Directors, Board of Directors, representatives of the Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Pharmacy and leading experts in the field of nursing training from VNU, Thai Nguyen University of Medicine, Vinmec International General Hospital.

Sharing at the Skills-lab Teaching Method Workshop (June 30), Mr. Le Van Duy - Head of Nursing Department said: Previously, to learn clinical skills such as infusion, dressing change, examination, puncture, delivery, perineal suturing, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, intravenous catheter placement..., medical and nursing students mainly studied theory and then practiced on patients.

Dr. Le Dac Son is especially interested in and wants the Nursing Faculty to develop the Skills-lab teaching method.

“If students only learn theory without regular practice, they will not be proficient in the operation, lack confidence when practicing on real people, causing discomfort, pain, and even danger to patients. This goes against the recommendations of modern medical and nursing training methods…” said Mr. Duy.

Mr. Le Van Duy shared about the Skills-lab teaching method of the Nursing Faculty at the Workshop.

Accordingly, with the Skills-lab teaching method, Dai Nam Nursing students practice 3 times more than the traditional way of learning; students practice with their heads, not just their hands; knowledge is transformed into specific events and technical processes; students clearly understand the nature of why, what to do and how to do it; in particular, this method helps to clearly identify the principles of each stage in each technical process to achieve what goals and to what extent; it is the first level in the competency pyramid (Miller, 1994), the basis for the next competency levels...

With the Skills-lab teaching method, Dai Nam Nursing students get to practice 3 times more than with traditional learning methods.

According to Mr. Le Van Duy, Skills-lab is not a model but a modern teaching method that helps lecturers and students take the initiative in training content, not depending on whether there are patients or not. The biggest advantage of this method is that it can control the practice process, does not harm patients, students are allowed to make mistakes, do it over and over again until they meet the requirements and understand the nature of the problem. In addition, the Skills-lab method also brings standardization of technical processes, activating students in learning, improving their ability to remember theory, learning in groups, creating convenience for learners with poor skills...

Practicing on real patients is the 6th stage of the learning process at Skills-lab of the Faculty of Nursing.

Currently, the Faculty of Nursing is applying 04 groups of teaching skills at Skills-lab, including: Physical examination (heart and lung examination); procedural skills (40 core skills of Dai Nam nursing reaching level 3/4 of Miller pyramid); communication skills and Labo skills; 06 learning stages at Skills-lab, including: Preparation, teacher model, student self-practice, learning on fake patients, student evaluation and practice on real patients.

With the Skills-lab teaching method, after graduation, Dai Nam University Nursing Bachelors have the ability to diagnose, make decisions, and can take on important positions such as hospital head nurse, department head nurse without the need for additional training. Not only that, Dai Nam Nursing Bachelors also meet the requirements of knowledge, professional skills, autonomy, self-responsibility and attitude to be able to study to improve their qualifications at the postgraduate level.

Nursing students practice clinical on real patients after mastering the operations on the model.

The Skills-lab of the Faculty of Nursing has more than 100 models and teaching support equipment for 04 skill groups, including models of infusion techniques (intravenous injection, subcutaneous injection, intramuscular injection); models of male and female urethral catheterization and gastric catheterization; models of cardiac and pulmonary resuscitation; models of comprehensive and multi-purpose care for adults, the elderly and children; delivery machines; models of perineal suturing; models of ear-nose-throat examination and breast examination in women; models of neonatal resuscitation, newborn dolls; a system of half-body models for heart and lung examination; models for spinal tap techniques, intravenous catheter placement and specialized simulation models such as laparoscopic surgery... All practice models are imported from countries with developed healthcare systems and are considered the best today.

Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Trung Kien - Vice Rector of University of Medicine and Pharmacy, VNU highly appreciated the Skills-lab teaching method of the Nursing Faculty of Dai Nam University.

Evaluating the Skills-lab teaching method of the Nursing Faculty of Dai Nam University, Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Trung Kien - Vice Principal of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy, VNU said: “Like medicine and pharmacy, studying nursing requires a lot of practice. Only through practice can students master the operations and have solid knowledge and skills. Currently, patients are increasingly demanding and require higher medical care. It is very difficult for interns to approach patients for practice. Therefore, students can only practice on Skills-lab. This is the most optimal solution for students to be guided by hand. The Nursing Faculty of Dai Nam University has chosen the right direction.”

Dr. Vi Thi Thanh Thuy, Deputy Head of Nursing Faculty, Head of Skills Training Department, Thai Nguyen University of Medicine, highly appreciated the professionalism in practical training of the Nursing Faculty, Dai Nam University.

Dr. Vi Thi Thanh Thuy - commented: "The Skills-lab teaching method is the right way in the period of international integration. Instead of learning in the traditional way, students are now guided by hand, corrected for even the smallest mistakes, thereby gaining knowledge - skills and experience through realistic hypothetical situations. Another noteworthy point is that Dai Nam University also teaches students professionalism (dress, greeting, walking, learning attitude... and soft skills)."

Dr. Nguyen Hoang Long - Head of Nursing Department, Vinmec International General Hospital shared his views at the Workshop.

Also at the Workshop, Dr. Nguyen Hoang Long highly appreciated the training direction and method that the Nursing Faculty of Dai Nam University has been applying. “Dai Nam University has paid due attention to the Skills-lab teaching method. With this direction, students can practice in the Skills-lab room up to 50% without affecting the training program and limiting the need for retraining after graduation. Another advantage is that the faculty has divided students into small groups when practicing in the Skills-lab room, students are given feedback from each other, and are allowed to make mistakes until they master the skills…”

The Skills-lab Teaching Method Workshop of the Nursing Faculty of Dai Nam University was a great success.

In his closing remarks at the workshop, Dr. Le Dac Son highly appreciated and expected that the Skills-lab teaching method would be one of the important turning points in affirming the training quality of the Faculty of Nursing; at the same time, he affirmed that he would create the most favorable conditions in terms of finance, facilities, and human resources to develop this teaching method.

“Nursing is a very challenging profession as it requires both health care and mental care for patients. Nurses are the closest to patients and understand them best, so in addition to carrying out doctors' orders, nurses need to have the ability to diagnose, advise and have good professional skills. To achieve these abilities, students must practice continuously during their studies. The Faculty of Nursing applies the teaching of 55 nursing skills and the Skills-lab teaching method, which is an extremely correct direction. The school fully supports and is willing to invest funds at the best level, even accepting initial difficulties so that the Faculty can increase the content of practice, internship and experience for students. The Faculty of Nursing has the right to decide to screen the training program, build a team of highly specialized and experienced personnel to improve the quality of training…” said Dr. Le Dac Son.

According to Dr. Le Dac Son, with the applied training program, students are the center but lecturers need to play an important role, both as instructors, judges and orienters. In the future, the health sector in general and the nursing sector in particular need to build businesses behind them to both improve the quality of training, ensure output for students, and improve the lives of staff and lecturers. Accordingly, the Faculty of Medicine will establish a General Clinic; the Faculty of Nursing will establish a Nursing Center; the Faculty of Pharmacy will establish a pharmaceutical manufacturing company, etc.

Thu Hoe