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Clinical Skills is an online skills reference, training management system which uses videos and animations to demonstrate a variety of skills online. The product also includes Learning Management System (LMS) functionality and single-sign-on access (SSO) to facilitate easy integration into institutional technical infrastructures.

Each skill is presented with the following tabs of information:

Quick Sheet - short (1-2 page) skill summary
Check List - for competency check-offs
Equipment needed to perform the skill or procedure
Self-test - offering immediate marketing and rationale
Demonstration – a video or animation of the skill or procedure
Skill overview – in-depth description of the skills including rationales, important considerations and references
References – full references, further reading and links to useful online resources

2. What are the benefits of Clinical Skills?

Clinical Skills will help hospitals and academic institutions provide training and reinforcement of skills learning to range of audiences including nurses, healthcare assistants, and students; in a scalable, cost effective and localised fashion.

Clinical Skills offers:

Offers concise reference and training materials for 150 clinical skills covering a range of specialties, based on best practice
A platform which offers a high level of communication and interactivity
Learning Management System (LMS) which includes functionality to assign tests and track learner progress, usage and results, and export data; it also integrates within existing systems e.g. NLMS
Content localisation features; the ability integrate content within existing LMSs, localise content and create content specific to the institutional needs and policies
Interactive, engaging content including text, photos, illustrations, videos and animations with references to established print products
Flexible access to content on/offline; available online via desktop and mobile devices (serves mobile nurses working across hospital departments and sites), single access and through a mobile application (where internet reception can be an issue).

3. What is the source for the content on Clinical Skills?

Content has been adapted from authoritative resources, with insight from leading academics and reputable nurse practitioners, to meet the education needs of healthcare institutions and practitioners today.

Content

4. What Specialties are covered in Clinical Skills?

There are several different specialties that are covered by Clinical Skills. There will be further skills added each year to meet user needs. The following is a current list of specialties covered from launch (April 2013):

Adult Nursing
General Nursing
Emergency and Critical Care Nursing Mental Health Nursing
Paediatric Nursing

The bulk of skills cover core adult nursing skills.

5. How many Skills are available on Clinical Skills?

The number of skills available on Clinical Skills is constantly changing as the product grows. From launch (April – June 2013) there will be 150 skills available.

6. Is the content evidence-based?

The Clinical Skills are based on the most current UK evidence including recent research, national standards and clinical practice guidelines. The content will be updated regularly to reflect current clinical practice.

Using Clinical Skills

7. How is Clinical Skills accessed?

Clinical Skills is a website with an institution specific URLcan be accessed online, on desktop, tablet and smartphone devices. Access can be provided based on IP-address, single sign-on with institutional systems through Athens and Shibboleth services, or by logins issued by the subscribing institution.

Content can also be exported to leading Virtual Learning Environments/Learning Management Systems (e.g. Moodle, Blackboard, NHS NLMS) as SCORM packages.

In addition, apps will be available at launch for iPhone, iPad and Android tablets and smartphones.

8. Can we edit the content in Clinical Skills?

Every component of a skill can be edited. Your institution has the ability to change the content found on the Quick Sheet, Checklist, Supplies, Test and Full Text sections of each skill. You also have the ability to manage the demonstrations and illustrations that come with each Skill and can even add your own. Skills can be turned on or off, Nursing Alerts included and skill titles can even be changed. The hospital will need to appoint a system administrator who can grant permission to specific users to be able to modify the content to reflect practice within their hospital.

9. If we customize one component of a skill, such as the Checklist, does the Quicksheet and Test get customized automatically?

Changes made to one component, such as the checklist; do not carry over to other components such as the Quicksheet. It is the customer’s responsibility to make all necessary changes throughout the skill.

10. There is a skill I need that is not in Clinical Skills; can I add a new skill?

All customers have the ability to create their own institutionally specific skills (ISS). There will be a number of empty ISS pods that come with the product that can be used to create your own skills. Customers do have the ability to purchase additional ISS pods if necessary and should talk to their sales rep for pricing information.

11. Can we upload our own demonstrations and illustrations?

Your institution can add your own demonstrations and illustrations to Clinical Skills via the Demos and Illustrations tabs located at the top of the Edit Skill page on the Admin side of the product. Videos can be uploaded in MP4 format, and will be automatically converted to the appropriate formats for end-users to access.

12. How do I view an old version of a skill?

Changes from Elsevier and customizations by the customer are tracked in the version history section. Simply identify the necessary skill on the admin side of the product and click on the Version number to be taken to the Version History section. From there you will see a list of the previous version of that Skill. Click on the necessary version number to see what that particular version looked like.

13. Can we set up something where we can 'link' to an external site where our policies are housed?

The text editor contains a tool that will create hyperlinks. For more information on how to use the text editor checkout the Administrators Guide located on the admin side of the product at the bottom of the page. 8

Accessing Clinical Skills

14. Is Clinical Skills available on a mobile device?

Clinical Skills can be accessed via a mobile device with internet access. In addition, apps will be available at launch for iPhone, iPad and Android tablets and smartphones.

15. Does Clinical Skills integrate with Electronic Medical Records (EMR)?

This functionality is under consideration for development.

16. Will Clinical Skills connect to our Learning Management System (LMS)?

Clinical Skills is compliant SCORM 1.2 and 2004 formats, so you can access the skills content directly in your existing LMS

17. Can users access Clinical Skills remotely?

Clinical Skills is accessible remotely. The product can be accessed through the institutions VPN or Proxy server, or directly by username and password. Username and passwords can be based on single sign-on with institutional systems through Athens and Shibboleth services, or by logins issued by the subscribing institution.Clinical Skills

18. Can my users access through a VPN or proxy server?

Clinical Skills can be accessed using a VPN or proxy server so long as we have the IP addresses associated with these services.

19. Can I access Clinical Skills content offline?

Apps allowing access to the content when offline will be available at launch for iPhone, iPad and Android tablets and smartphones.

20. Is there a backup plan to access Clinical Skills in case of an emergency (power outage, internet down)?

Each healthcare facility should refer to their disaster management policy if they experience a power outage or their internet (intranet) is not accessible. In addition, mobile apps will continue to offer access to Skills content even if internet or intranet access is disrupted in your institution temporarily.

21. What does IP authentication mean?

IP authentication allows your institution to get referential access to Clinical Skills without the need to log in. IP Authentication is obtained by supplying Clinical Skills with all of the external facing IP addresses for your institution. This allows any learner coming from one of the supplied IP addresses to get referential access.

22. What is generic or referential access?

Generic access gives the users at your institution to ability to access Clinical Skills without logging in. Users will have the ability to view the content on Clinical Skills, like the Quick Sheet, Extended Text, Checklist and Demos. They will still be able to access their assignments and take tests but will need to log in to do so. Generic access is obtained by supplying Clinical Skills with all of the external facing IP addresses for your institution. This allows any learner coming from one of the supplied IP addresses to get referential or generic access.

Technical Specifications

23. What are the system requirements for the user of Clinical Skills? How much integration is necessary with my hospital system?

Clinical Skills can be accessed via desktop devices running IE7+, and current versions of Firefox, Chrome and Safari browsers, with Flash 7 and above. In addition, the mobile website can be accessed on iPad, iPhone and Android devices. It is recommended that you have a broadband or 3G internet connection.

Clinical Skills is delivered via the internet. Using your web browser, the product is available from any computer used within your network without any integration into your hospital systems, although LMS and single sign-on integration is possible.

24. What are the requirements for integration with my nursing school / universities LMS[RE3] ?

Skills modules can be exported from the Skills platform to SCORM 2004 or SCORM 1.2 learning objects, which can be loaded into your institution’s SCORM-compliant learning management system (e.g. Moodle, Blackboard, NHS NLMS). Content remains hosted by Elsevier, so updates to Skills can be made by Elsevier or customized by your institutional administrator, and will be reflected in the content displayed to your learners. In addition, test results will be posted to your learning management system’s gradebook, where available.

Demonstrations, Purchasing and Marketing

25. Where would I get more information to get started with a free trial for my institution?

We are now actively looking for partners to work with us during our Beta launch.

If you would be interested in trial and entering a mutually beneficial strategic partnership with Elsevier, please contact customercare@elsevier.com for more information.

26. Where can I see sample content?

For a sample of content available within a specific skill, please register for a trial on our homepage.

Please contact customercare@elsevier.com for more information.

27. Where can I see a free product demonstration?

To watch a guided product demonstration, please visit our homepage .

Please contact customercare@elsevier.com for more information.

28. Who is my sales contact?

If you are not sure who your sales representative is, please contact customercare@elsevier.com for more information.

29. What types of marketing materials are available and how do I obtain them?

We are currently creating different types of marketing materials including product brochures and quick reference cards that can be obtained by contacting customercare@elsevier.com for more information.

Training and Support

30. Who can I talk to about rolling out Clinical Skills?

Please contact customercare@elsevier.com for more information.

31. Who do I contact if I need technical support?

Please contact customercare@elsevier.com.