Clinical Simulators

ladyinred667 · Mar 7, 2007

What do you mean? We have a Vita-Sim mannequin that we use in the labs sometimes. Last term we had a day in Skills Lab where they gave us a scenario and we had to do our med and lab sheets and care plans based on that.

This term we have something called Integrated Skills and you get a scenario but have to run through the whole thing. Look at your patient (mannequin), look at the room set up, and prioritize from there. And you'd better notice if your IV pump is supposed to be set at 100ml/hr and it's only at 50.

Scrubz · Mar 7, 2007

Yeah, our school used some kind of clinical simulator for our peds class. I don't think it was very good though because it takes the patient interaction out of the picture. Plus you don't really get any hands on experience. It's kind of like reading a book that has interactive pictures, and that's about it. I guess I can't say they're completely worthless though, I mean, they're good for learning some things obviously, but it doesn't really simulate a real clinical experience, because how can you unless you're actually there interacting with real people? You could probably run through a clinical simulator with ease but I don't think it would prepare you a whole lot for real clinicals because you didn't learn patient interaction skills. Plus being in a real clinical setting can be much more stressful, and clinical simulators take the stress out of the picture. I mean, why care if something goes wrong in a simulator? You can just reset it. The way I see it, they're okay to use as supplemental learning material as long as you're getting "real" experience, which is what matters most. That's my two cents about clinical simulators.

Kiringat · Mar 8, 2007

We have a creepy manequin that can do just about anything - including giving birth. *shudder*

future L&Dnurse · Mar 8, 2007

We have a creepy manequin too, but so far none of us have gotten to use it (Level 1 students). I have my first "simulation experience" later this month.

WolfpackRed · Mar 8, 2007

At UNC-Chapel Hill SON, we have a full blown clinical simulator, does heart, breath, bowel sounds, has BP and veins for access, eyes move and "talks". Very cool, and we use mainly to simulate some emergency situations that, as students, you may not see in clinical.

Scrubz · Mar 9, 2007

Oh, I guess we weren't talking about what I'm talking about.

Our school has the labs set up to practice too, and they're great for practice because you can do whatever and keep working until you got it down.

S.T.A.C.E.Y, LPN · Mar 9, 2007

Our school got a huge grant a couple of years ago for a simulation lab. Sim Man/Woman, Sim Pregnant lady, Sim Child, Sim Baby. Central monitoring station for the profs where they can watch you interact or perform your simulation experience through video monitors in the rooms. Profs can control the sim persons voice, pulse, breathing, resp sounds, etc. I didn't get to use it much, but the new students use it for everything. Our year practiced medical emergencies on them. Congestive heart failure, MI, hypovolemic shock, codes, etc. It was good for the experience. Especially because we could watch the video recordings afterward and critique ourselves, and the time it took to do things. And it was nice not to have a prof in the room staring over your shoulder. Plus, the manniquin could respond to your questions, and their status actually changed as you performed (or didn't perform) certain interventions.

franciscangypsy · Mar 9, 2007

Our school got a huge grant a couple of years ago for a simulation lab. Sim Man/Woman, Sim Pregnant lady, Sim Child, Sim Baby. Central monitoring station for the profs where they can watch you interact or perform your simulation experience through video monitors in the rooms. Profs can control the sim persons voice, pulse, breathing, resp sounds, etc. I didn't get to use it much, but the new students use it for everything. Our year practiced medical emergencies on them. Congestive heart failure, MI, hypovolemic shock, codes, etc. It was good for the experience. Especially because we could watch the video recordings afterward and critique ourselves, and the time it took to do things. And it was nice not to have a prof in the room staring over your shoulder. Plus, the manniquin could respond to your questions, and their status actually changed as you performed (or didn't perform) certain interventions.

Omigosh! I'm so GLAD my school doesn't have that! :uhoh3:

I can see how it would be helpful in some ways, but in my mind it completely takes out the personal aspect that is so important in nursing.