Psychomotor Nursing Skills

Psychomotor skills involve physical dexterity, coordination and movement. Some communication skills also fall into this category. Nurses need to acquire psychomotor skills as part of their training. Taking a patient's blood pressure, for instance, calls for psychomotor skills, as does performing physical assessments.

Vital Signs

• One area requiring the use of psychomotor nursing skills is measurement of a patient's vital signs. A nurse must choose a blood pressure cuff of the appropriate size for the patient and position a stethoscope. Similarly, for gauging a patient's respiratory rate, a nurse has to observe the patient's respiration, count the breaths and gauge their depth, rhythm and character.

Infection Control

• A nurse has to wash his hands before touching the patient and whenever he comes into contact with the patient's body secretions. To control the spread of infection, the nurse must contain infected material to contaminated areas, dispose of contaminated material and implement other precautions in line with his employer's policies.

Patient Care

• In helping a patient with bathing, a nurse needs to drape the patient adequately to maintain the patient's privacy, clean the patient and assess the condition of her skin. Similarly, a nurse giving a patient a back rub applies a lotion or solution over her back in a circular motion and assesses the condition of her skin. In providing foot care, a nurse has to wash and soak the foot and dry it thoroughly, as well as assessing the condition of the skin. And in administering oral care, the nurse needs to brush the patient's teeth or dentures. All these day-to-day patient care activities draw on psychomotor skills.