The role of demonstrations in the learning of nursing psychomotor skills

The learning of nursing psychomotor skills has traditionally been associated with lecturer demonstrations. In recent years there has been an increased emphasis on the development of independent learning within nurse education, and this study aims to investigate the potential for self-learning of psychomotor skills in nursing. Students were sampled from a number of different nurse education facilities in Northern Ireland, and a true experiment was carried out. Results indicate that students can learn a psychomotor skill both with and without a demonstration. Students who received a demonstration appeared to pay more attention to the principles of asepsis and communication; however these students were also more likely to pick up bad habits from the lecturer. This study adds to the existing research base for the learning and teaching of psychomotor skills in nursing.