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MWSU | Academics/Departments | Nursing Department | Nursing Lab | Guidelines

• Introduction
• Student Expectations
• Laboratory Standards
• Laboratory Hours
• Scheduling
• Evaluations and Suggestions
• Invitation

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The nursing laboratory, room 307 in Murphy Hall, is an important part of your nursing education. The laboratory has equipment, simulators, manikins, supplies, printed resources, CD’s, video, audio tapes and computer resources to facilitate multi-sensory learning of technical, interpersonal and critical thinking skills. It is staffed by a Faculty Coordinator and Laboratory Teaching Associates (LTAs), who are selected nursing students. The nursing laboratory team strive to:

• Project a service oriented, supportive, respectful and friendly attitude.
• Demonstrate, teach, and explain, with a focus on rationales.
• Move from the simple to the complex, and from that which is familiar to the relatively unfamiliar.
• Respectfully require a high, but reachable, level of competence.

The nursing laboratory and the lab team are available for unsupervised independent practice, guided practice, and for validations.

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Each student is expected to:

• Respectfully interact with faculty, LTAs, and each other.
• Responsibly utilize supplies and equipment.
• Bring supplies needed for practice and validation which have been issued to them; unfortunately, supplies cannot and will not be reissued.
• Dress modestly, avoiding an exposed midriff and a low neckline.
• Wear a lab jacket or MWSU nursing uniform or polo with name tag for validations.
• Take all lab practices and validations seriously to achieve competence; practice as many times as personally necessary to become competent;  each student has a professional responsibility to current and future patients to be competent.
• Complete required learning and testing of related knowledge; read and understand all relevant criteria prior to a guided practice session.
• Be prepared for and keep guided practice and validation appointments.
• Bring a partner / patient actor to guided practice and validation sessions if one is required.
• Participate in a debriefing session after each guided practice and validation.
• When relevant, bring the book Skill Checklists to Accompany Taylor's Clinical Nursing to each guided practice and validation.

Each student is encouraged to have a lab partner.

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• With the express permission of the performing student, and if the LTA is comfortable with it, other students may quietly observe a guided practice.
• Students will not be allowed to observe a validation.
• A brief but appropriate introduction and explanation to the patient should be done during every guided practice and validation.
• Hand sanitation and patient ID verification are routine safety issues and must be done during guided practices and validations.
• Leaving the side of a bed unattended with the side rail down is a safety issue.  Leaving the bed in other than the lowest position when care is terminated is a safety issue.
• Unless directed otherwise by attending faculty, "verbalizing" a task (such as hand sanitation) is not acceptable during guided practice or validation.
• Unless directed otherwise in writing by the faculty, the LTA will do no helping / coaching during the validation.
• Unless directed otherwise in writing by the faculty, the student may use no written prompts during a validation.
• If there is any unsafe practice that is not self-acknowledged and/or self-corrected before the unsafe action is executed, the LTA as a rule will not point out an unrecognized unsafe action until the completion of the validation.
• The Lab Teaching Associate observing the validation will record details on the Validation Form about the performance and the student's clinical instructor will decide if the performance was satisfactory or if additional practice and revalidation are needed.

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Lab hours may vary. If it is necessary for a student to use the lab for independent practice when the lab is not open, the student should contact the Faculty Coordinator or his/her instructor.

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Scheduling for guided practices and validations with an LTA will be done electronically by each student according to the directions below.  Each student must schedule for and perform by herself/himself only unless the activity listed on the scheduling system and states for two students such as: Hygiene and Transferring for 2 students.  In this case one student will schedule and bring another student along.  Both students should be able to complete the procedure in the time allotted.

1. Go to the Department of Nursing Home Page
2. Click on the link to the Nursing Lab
3. Enter your G Number
4. Enter the last 2 digits of your birth year followed by the last 4 digits of your social security number.  This will act as your PIN.
5. Follow the online instructions.
6. The electronic scheduling program will automatically schedule you for the appropriate length of time for the activity.
7. Canceling an appointment up to 24 hours of the appointment time can be done online.

Canceling appointments at the last minute or just missing the appointment due to lack of preparation is not appropriate and courteous to others. If due to an emergency an appointment needs to be cancelled at a time when there is less than 24 hours remaining until the appointment, please call Roger Voelkel, the lab Coordinator, at 271-5915. Missed appointments will be reported to the faculty member who assigned the guided practice or validation.

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We in the nursing lab desire to serve you well. We want and appreciate your feedback. Positive ratings and comments are as helpful as comments to help us improve. When you open the Nursing Lab web page, there is a link on the left hand of the page titled “How did I do/LTA Evaluation”. These evaluations are also available in print in the lab for completion and deposit in the Evaluation Box in the lab. We encourage you to evaluate each LTA after each lab appointment. On the web page, there is a link to the suggestion box. We invite your suggestions. You are also welcome to give suggestions and feedback to Roger Voelkel, the Lab Faculty Coordinator in person or at 271-5915 or voelkel@missouriwestern.edu .

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We invite and encourage all nursing students to use the nursing laboratory and lab team to learn, practice and move toward competence.