Medical/Surgical Skills Checklist

This profile is for use by Medical/Surgical nurses with more than one year's experience in their discipline and specialty.

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Please indicate your level of experience
A. Theory, no practice C. One - two years experience
B. Intermittent experience D. Two plus years experience

A. CARDIOVASCULAR
  1. Assessment
    a. Auscultation (rate, rhythm) A B C D
    b. Blood pressure/non-invasive A B C D
    c. Doppler A B C D
    d. Heart sounds/murmurs A B C D
    e. Pulses/circulation checks A B C D
  2. Equipment & procedures
    a. Telemetry
      (1) Basic 12 lead interpretation A B C D
      (2) Basic Arrhythmia interpretation A B C D
      (3) Lead placement A B C D
    b. Pacemaker
      (1) Permanent A B C D
      (2) Temporary A B C D
  3. Care of the patient with:
    a. Abdominal aortic bypass A B C D
    b. Aneurysm A B C D
    c. Angina A B C D
    d. Cardiac Arrest A B C D
    e. Cardiomyopathy A B C D
    f. Carotid endarterectomy A B C D
    g. Congestive heart failure (CHF) A B C D
    h. Femoral-popliteal bypass A B C D
    i. Myocarditis A B C D
    j. Post Acute MI (24-48 hours) A B C D
    k. Post Angioplasty A B C D
    l. Post Cardiac Cath A B C D
    m. Post Cardiac Surgery A B C D
    n. Thrombophlebitis A B C D
  4. Medications
    a. Heparin drip A B C D
    b. Oral anticoagulants A B C D
    c. Oral & IVP antihypertensives A B C D
    d. Oral & topical nitrates A B C D
B. PULMONARY
  1. Assessment  
    a. Breath sounds A B C D
    b. Rate and work of breathing A B C D
  2. Interpretation of lab results
    a. Blood chemistry A B C D
    b. Blood gases A B C D
  3. Equipment & procedures
    a. Airway management devices/suctioning
      (1) Endotracheal tube/suctioning A B C D
      (2) Nasal airway/suctioning A B C D
      (3) Oropharyngeal/suctioning A B C D
      (4) Sputum specimen collection A B C D
      (5) Tracheostomy/suctioning A B C D
    b. Assist with intubation A B C D
    c. Assist with thoracentesis A B C D
    d. Care of the patient on a ventilator A B C D
    e. Care of the patient with a chest tube
      (1) Assist with set-up & insertion A B C D
      (2) Measuring and emptying A B C D
      (3) Removal A B C D
    f. Chest physiotherapy A B C D
    g. Incentive spirometry A B C D
    h. O2 therapy & medication delivery systems
      (1) Bag and mask A B C D
      (2) External CPAP A B C D
      (3) Face masks A B C D
      (4) Inhalers A B C D
      (5) Nasal cannula A B C D
      (6) Portable O2 tank A B C D
      (7) Trach collar A B C D
    i. Oximetry A B C D
  4. Care of the patient with:
    a. Bronchoscopy A B C D
    b. COPD A B C D
    c. Fresh tracheostomy A B C D
    d. Lobectomy A B C D
    e. Pneumonectomy A B C D
    f. Pneumonia A B C D
    g. Pulmonary embolism A B C D
    h. Thoracotomy A B C D
    i. Tuberculosis A B C D

C. NEUROLOGICAL
  1. Assessment  
    a. Glasgow coma scale A B C D
    b. Level of consciousness A B C D
  2. Equipment & procedures
    a. Assist with lumbar puncture A B C D
    b. Use of hyper/hypothermia blanket A B C D
  3. Care of the patient with:
    a. Aneurysm precautions A B C D
    b. Basal skull fracture A B C D
    c. Closed head injury A B C D
    d. Coma A B C D
    e. CVA A B C D
    f. DTs A B C D
    g. Encephalitis A B C D
    h. Externalized VP shunts A B C D
    i. Meningitis A B C D
    j. Neuromuscular disease A B C D
    k. Post craniotomy A B C D
    l. Seizures A B C D
    m. Spinal cord injury A B C D
  4. Administration of anticonvulsants A B C D

D. ORTHOPEDICS
  1. Assessment  
    a. Circulation checks A B C D
    b. Gait A B C D
    c. Range of motion A B C D
    d. Skin A B C D
  2. Equipment & procedures
    a. Continuous passive motion devices A B C D
    b. Support devices
      (1) Cane A B C D
      (2) Cervical collar A B C D
      (3) Gait belt A B C D
      (4) Prosthetic A B C D
      (5) Sling A B C D
      (6) Transfer boards A B C D
      (7) Walker A B C D
      (8) Wheelchair A B C D
    c. Traction A B C D
  3. Care of the patient with:
    a. Amputation A B C D
    b. Arthroscopic surgery A B C D
    c. Cast A B C D
    d. Osteoporosis A B C D
    e. Pinned fractures A B C D
    f. Rheumatic/arthritic disease A B C D
    g. Total hip replacement A B C D
    h. Total knee replacement A B C D

E. GASTROINTESTINAL
  1. Assessment  
    a. Abdominal/bowel sounds A B C D
    b. Fluid balance A B C D
    c. Nutritional A B C D
  2. Interpretation of blood chemistry A B C D
  3. Equipment & procedures
    a. Administration of tube feeding
      (1) Feeding pump A B C D
      (2) Gravity feeding A B C D
      (3) Saline lavage A B C D
    b. Flexible feeding tube (i.e., Corpak, Dobhoff) A B C D
    c. Management of
      (1) Gastrostomy tube A B C D
      (2) Jejunostomy tube A B C D
      (3) T-tube A B C D
    d. Placement of nasogastric tube A B C D
    e. Salem sump to suction A B C D
  4. Care of the patient with:
    a. Bowel obstruction A B C D
    b. Colostomy/ileostomy A B C D
    c. GI bleeding A B C D
    d. GI surgery A B C D
    e. Hepatitis A B C D
    f. Inflammatory bowel disease A B C D
    g. Invasive diagnostic testing A B C D
    h. Liver failure A B C D
    i. Paralytic ileus A B C D

F. RENAL/GENITOURINARY
  1. Assessment  
    a. Arterio venous fistula/shunt A B C D
    b. Fluid balance A B C D
  2. Interpretation of lab results
    a. BUN & creatinine A B C D
    b. Electrolytes A B C D
  3. Equipment & procedures
    a. Insertion & care of straight and Foley catheter
      (1) Female A B C D
      (2) Male A B C D
    b. Catheter care
      (1) 3-way Foley A B C D
      (2) Supra-pubic A B C D
    c. Bladder irrigations
      (1) Continuous A B C D
      (2) Intermittent A B C D
    d. Specimen collection
      (1) Routine A B C D
      (2) 24 hour A B C D
  4. Care of the patient with:
    a. Hemodialysis A B C D
    b. Nephrectomy A B C D
    c. Peritoneal dialysis A B C D
    d. Renal failure A B C D
    e. Renal transplant A B C D
    f. TURP A B C D
    g. Urinary diversion/ileal conduit nephrostomy A B C D
    h. Urinary tract infection A B C D

G. ENDOCRINE/METABOLIC
  1. Assessment  
    a. S/S diabetic coma A B C D
    b. S/S insulin reaction A B C D
  2. Equipment & procedures
    a. Blood glucose monitoring
      (1) Electronic measuring device: type
      (2) Performing finger stick A B C D
      (3) Visual blood glucose strips A B C D
    b. Indwelling insulin pump A B C D
  3. Care of the patient with:
    a. Diabetes mellitus A B C D
    b. Disorders of adrenal gland (Addison's disease) A B C D
    c. Disorders of pituitary gland (Diabetes insipidus) A B C D
    d. Hyperthyroidism (Grave's disease)