Clinical Nursing Skills and Techniques

Clinical nursing skills and techniques: Browse our article database below to find great tips and tutorials for a variety of nursing skills such as giving an injection, putting on sterile gloves, catheter insertion, and much more. These articles and included videos are written to help give practical advice and show common techniques to nursing students, as well as those interested in the nursing profession. These can be a great way to learn how common procedures are performed. If you would like to know more about nursing skills, visit our main nursing skills overview article. To view an individual skill, just browse the articles below.

Assistive Devices NCLEX Questions (Crutches, Canes, Walkers)

Comprehensive assistive device NCLEX questions quiz that assesses your nursing knowledge on crutches, canes, and walkers. As the nurse, you must know how to properly fit a patient for these devices, how to correctly ambulate with these assistive devices, types of gaits (specifically with crutches), go up and down stairs, and how to get up and […]

Walker (Assistive Device) NCLEX Questions

Assistive devices NCLEX questions for walkers. As a nurse providing care to a patient who will be using a walker, it is important that the patient is fitted correctly for the walker, uses the walker properly during ambulation, and knows how to sit down or get up from a chair with a walker. In the […]

Canes Nursing NCLEX Review

This is a quick NCLEX review over canes for nursing students! Canes are assistive devices used to help a patient ambulate. As the nurse you must know the following material about canes: How to tell if the cane properly fits the patient? How to ambulate with a cane? How to go up and down stairs […]

Crutches Nursing NCLEX Review

This is a quick NCLEX review over crutches for nursing students! Crutches are assistive devices used to help a patient ambulate. As the nurse you must know the following material about crutches: How to tell if the crutches properly fit the patient? The different types of gaits used for crutches? Make sure you know this […]

Pulse Points Nursing Assessment

Learn how to check pulse points in this nursing assessment review. We will review 9 common pulse points on the human body. As a nurse you will be assessing many of these pulse points regularly, while others you will only assess at certain times. When you assess a pulse point you will be assessing: Rate: […]

How to Perform Hand Hygiene with Soap and Water (Handwashing)

Learn how to perform hand hygiene with soap and water. Handwashing is performed routinely by healthcare workers to help prevent the spread of germs. It is essential that nurses use proper technique when performing hand hygiene. There are two ways to perform hand hygiene. This can be achieved by either using soap and water or […]

How to Administer an Intramuscular Injection in the Deltoid Muscle using Z-Track Technique

This article will review how to give an intramuscular (IM) injection in the deltoid muscle using the z-track technique. Before administering any type of medication whether it is an IM injection or oral medication, always review your facilities protocols on how they require you to administer that specific medication. Before giving an injection, ALWAYS make […]

How to Assess Cranial Nerve V (Trigeminal)

Learn how to assess cranial nerve V, the trigeminal nerve. What is the role of cranial nerve 5? The trigeminal nerve allows us to feel sensation in our face, and it has motor functions that allow us to chew food and clench down. To assess the trigeminal nerve, you will need some supplies: soft cotton […]

How to Take a Temperature 6 Different Ways

Learn about 6 different ways to take a temperature. What is a normal body temperature? It varies from person to person: Adults: 97’F to 99 ‘F (average 98.6’) Children: 97.4’F to 100’F Anything over 100.4 ‘F is considered a fever There are many different routes used to measure a temperature. This includes the: oral, tympanic (ear), […]

Hard to Find Veins When Drawing Blood, Starting IVs, Venipuncture

What if you can’t find veins on a patient, yet you need to start an IV, draw blood, or perform other venipuncture procedures? This happens more often than you’d think, and even seasoned nurses struggle to find veins in patients who are obese, dehydrated, or suffering from advanced renal or heart disease. Luckily, there are […]

Best Veins for IV Insertion and Blood Draws

In this article, I’m going to talk about the best veins for IV insertion and blood draws. Every nurse is different in what veins they love to use when drawing blood or starting IVs, but these are the ones I love. Video To be successful at drawing blood or starting IVs you must: Know your […]

How to Assess the Six Cardinal Fields of Gaze

Learn how to assess the six cardinal fields of gaze as a nurse. In nursing school, you will have to complete a nursing head-to-toe assessment and during this assessment you will have to assess the six cardinal fields of gaze. What is the purpose of assessing the six cardinal fields of gaze? It helps to […]

Visual Acuity Test with a Snellen Chart

Learn how to assess visual acuity using a Snellen chart as a nurse. In nursing school, you will have to complete a nursing head-to-toe assessment and during this assessment you may have to assess visual acuity using the Snellen chart. What cranial nerve is tested when assessing vision with a Snellen chart? Cranial nerve II […]

How to Remove Sutures

Learn how to remove surgical sutures (nursing): Sutures (also called stitches) are used to close wounds either from an injury of some type or a surgical procedure. There are various types of suture patterns used. The most common, which will be demonstrated in this article, is the simple interrupted suture. In addition, there are these […]

How to Remove Surgical Staples

As a nurse you will be removing surgical staples. This article will detail how to remove surgical staples in a patient after surgery. Why do patients have surgical staples? To close a wound of some type, which is most commonly a surgical site. While working on a post-op floor for vascular surgery patients, I encountered […]

How to Clean Dentures Nursing

Cleaning dentures is a basic nursing skill that you will be performing as a nurse. Many patients are very sick and are unable to get up out of bed and clean their dentures. Therefore, as the nurse you will have to do this. There are some things you want to consider when providing denture care, […]

Cranial Nerve Examination Nursing

During the head-to-toe nursing assessment, you will be assessing the cranial nerves. In this article, I want to break down how to assess cranial nerves I through XII (1-12) as a nurse. Why do we assess cranial nerves? In short, to see if the neuron/nerve works! Why wouldn’t a cranial nerve “work”? In many neuro […]

Intake and Output Calculation NCLEX Review

Intake and output calculation NCLEX review for nurses. This quick review will highlight how to calculate intake and output because these type of questions may be on your NCLEX exam or (definitely) on a nursing lecture exam. It seems like calculating I and O’s is self-explanatory, right?! Well, it can be tricky, especially calculating intake […]

Fear of Needles in Nursing (Belonephobia, Aichmophobia, or Trypanophobia)

In nursing, sticking patients with needles is a part of our job description. We have to stick patients to draw blood, start IVs, administer medications, and so forth. And everything is fine and dandy until you come across a patient with a needle phobia. Needle phobia, also called belonephobia, aichmophobia, or trypanophobia, can come in […]

Nitroglycerin Sublingual and Oral Spray Nursing Pharmacology and Administration Review

This article will be a pharmacology and administration review for sublingual and oral spray nitroglycerin. What is nitroglycerin used for? It used to relieve or prevent chest pain. It is part of the drug family of nitrates and because of this it causes vasodilation of blood vessels. This will lead to an increase in blood supply […]

Abdominal Assessment Nursing

This article will explain how to assess the abdomen as a nurse. This assessment is part of the nursing head-to-toe assessment you have to perform in nursing school and on the job. During the abdominal assessment you will be: Inspecting Auscultating Palpating/Percussing Video Demonstration on a Nursing Abdominal Assessment Abdomen: Switches to Inspection, Auscultation, Percussion, and […]

Upper and Lower Extremity Assessment

This article will explain how to assess the upper and lower extremities as a nurse. This assessment is part of the nursing head-to-toe assessment you have to perform in nursing school and on the job. During the extremity assessment you will be assessing the following structures: arms hands legs feet Video Demonstration on Upper and Lower […]

Chest Assessment Nursing (Heart and Lungs)

This article will explain how to assess the chest (heart and lungs) as a nurse. This assessment is part of the nursing head-to-toe assessment you have to perform in nursing school and on the job. During the chest assessment you will be assessing the following structures: Overall appearance of the chest Lung Sounds: includes abnormal lung […]

Head and Neck Assessment Nursing

This article will explain how to assess the head and neck as a nurse. This assessment is part of the nursing head-to-toe assessment you have to perform in nursing school and on the job. During the head and neck assessment you will be assessing the following structures: Head includes- face, hair, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, […]

How to Assess the Eyes (Nursing)

This article will explain how to perform an assessment of the eyes as a nurse. This assessment is part of the nursing head-to-toe assessment you have to perform in nursing school and on the job. The eye assessment includes: Inspection of the eyes for abnormalities Testing the cranial nerves responsible for eye function: III, IV, […]

Head-to-Toe Assessment Nursing

This article will explain how to conduct a nursing head-to-toe health assessment. This assessment is similar to what you will be required to perform in nursing school. As you gain experience, you will conduct the assessment in a way that works for you and will become faster overtime. Also depending on what specialty you are […]

Metered-Dose Inhaler Spacer Demonstration

This article will demonstrate how to use a spacer with a metered-dose inhaler (MDI). What is a metered-dose inhaler (MDI)? It’s an inhaler used to administer a set amount of medication into the lungs. Medications that are used include bronchodilators, corticosteroids etc. What is a spacer used with a metered-dose inhaler? A spacer is an […]

Metered-Dose Inhaler Demonstration: Open and Closed-Mouth Techniques

This article will demonstrate how to use a metered-dose inhaler by using either the open or closed-mouth technique. What is a metered-dose inhaler? It’s an inhaler used to administer a set amount of medication into the lungs. Medications that are used include bronchodilators, corticosteroids etc. When administering a MDI, it is important to teach the patient […]

Nitropaste Ointment Application

Learn about nitropaste ointment application. This article will provide detailed steps on how to administer nitroglycerin ointment as a nurse. This medication is typically prescribed for cardiac patients, and it’s sometimes called Nitrobid, Nitropaste, or Nitro ointment. What is Nitroglycerin ointment? It is a vasodilator, and it is used to prevent chest pain (angina) in […]

Apical Pulse Assessment and Location

Learn how to assess the apical pulse. This article will explain how to find the apical pulse location along with how to listen and palpate the apical pulse. As a nurse you will be assessing the apical pulse during a head-to-toe assessment and before administering medications like Digoxin. In an adult, a normal apical pulse […]