Preparing nursing students for contemporary practice: restructuring the psychomotor skills laboratory.

The restructured laboratory experience offered a safe environment that supported student experimentation with psychomotor skills and self-initiated approaches to problem solving. Restructuring psychomotor laboratory experiences with emphasis on communication and conceptualization of principles supported students to begin addressing clinical problems with flexibility, creativity, and the premise for lifelong skill acquisition. Students who have skills that extend beyond technique will inevitably be better prepared to meet the demands of health care systems and patients now and in the future.