BAMC nurses complete annual training, sharpen skills

By Lori Newman, Brooke Army Medical Center Public AffairsDecember 5, 2014

Nursing Skills Validation - Patient Restraint
1 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Nursing Skills Validation - RRT
2 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Nursing Skills Validation - Patient Assessment
3 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Nursing Skills Evaluation - Infection Control
4 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON -- More than 600 nurses participated in Brooke Army Medical Center's Nursing Skills Validation Nov. 17-21.

NSV training provides nurses a refresher in various skills specific to their work area, such as infection prevention and control, proper patient restraint and blood administration.

This semi-annual event to assess competency helps meet Joint Commission requirements and takes about four hours to complete. Once the nurses - check in, they receive a list of skills applicable to their specific unit. Upon completion, they receive credit in the Army Medical Department Personnel Education and Quality System or APEQS.

"There are core skills that are universal and applicable to everyone, and then there are skills that are specialized, or specific to their department," said Scott Strater, nurse educator.

All the nurses must complete 14 core skills along with additional skills specific to their particular work areas.

"One of the featured skills this time was when to alert the Rapid Response Team," Strater said. "The BAMC policy recently changed so we wanted to include up-to-date information on the RRT."

The RRT is a patient safety initiative to speed the identification of and care of patients with clinical factors suggesting impending deterioration. The RRT is comprised of staff members from critical care nursing services, the respiratory therapy section and the patient's primary care team.

Previously NSV was only a requirement for registered nurses and licensed vocational nurses. This year it's evolved to the entire nursing staff, explained Strater.

The NSV is held twice a year, in May and November, and involves almost every department within the hospital.

"It takes about four months to prepare for this event," Strater said. "We review the training each time to make sure it is current with BAMC policy changes and we are the only one's doing live skills validation like this within the Army Medical Command."

Related Links:

Brooke Army Medical Center