Clinical simulation fears

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Oct 28, 2011

Well, you can't hurt them, so it's a great way to do things the first time and fumble through so it's not as "foreign" as a real person; the mannequin won't judge you. It's safe. You're safe.

It's awkward to work on a fake thing- but it's also part of the deal....just look at it as the preface to the real deal. :)

allnurses Guide · Oct 28, 2011

I actually came to love it. How much you get out of it is really up to you. Let your head get into it as much as you can and make that mannequin "real". Kind of like playing "Let's Pretend" as a child I guess. I found I learned a LOT in simulation when I really got my head into the game and didn't worry about what people might think or whether it was foolish.

SnMrsSmiley · Oct 28, 2011

i think its the fact that your instructors are on the other ide of that 2way mirror watching your every breathe that makes it so nerve wracking. Our instructors talk to us theough the man-akin too and tehy really throw up some crazy stuff out of that thing. Just TRY to forget they are there and make it fun.

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Oct 28, 2011

We never had a 2-way mirror !!

symphie · Oct 28, 2011

Honestly, I never got over that fear or the hatred of the mannequins. I just had to tell myself that it was something I had to do, and had to get through, to get to where I wanted to be working on real people. :lol2:

NewSN13 · Oct 28, 2011

We never had a 2-way mirror !!

We have 3 cameras and microphones recording our every move!

I usually get so immersed in what I'm doing that after a minute or two, I forget that my patient is a mannequin. It always feels a bit awkward at first but I just force myself to push through, get as much into the role as possible and by the end, I'm usually chatting away with the patient and not giving it a second thought!

ashleyisawesome, BSN, RN · Oct 28, 2011

thankfully our sim lab instructor is pretty laid back.. we have a two way mirror, and she used to record the simulations but stopped because she thought it made the students too nervous... its a pretty relaxed atmosphere for us, but we still learn a lot.. you can mess up on them and its ok because they are mannequins! be glad you get the practice before you have to do it on the real thing!

Bruce_Wayne, ASN, RN · Oct 28, 2011

The problem I had with simulations is that I went in there acting like it was real, directing my questions and responses to the dummy, etc. At one point I got really caught up in and did a sternal rub and tapped the cheek of my dummy. The teacher just stared at me and said, "did you just slap your patient?!" I couldn't say anything I just went uuuhh he's not responding to me."

She then laughed so hard she peed a little and had to go to the bathroom.

witty_online_moniker · Oct 29, 2011

Argh, I have the same issue! I feel so unnatural doing the skills on a plastic person and I ended up leaving out some important components of skills because the mannequin didn't respond in the same way that a real person would have when we had our last skills test. I think it is more an issue of me not being comfortable with any sort of role-playing exercise than not being comfortable with the skills. I also have a hard time with the artificial feedback. Hearing the instructor say "Skin is warm to the touch" doesn't have the same impact as actually feeling it myself.

I know that part of my issue with my last simulation was that I wasn't able to practice as much on the mannequins as I would have liked. I think if I was more familiar with their "quirks" then maybe I would be less nervous during the simulation.

chevyv, BSN, RN · Oct 29, 2011

My first SIM was horrible! I was new to SIM and the other students in my group had been through it more than once. I failed miserably. My second SIM experience was with one other student and we kicked butt!

Have confidence, that's what I lacked the 1st time and had the 2nd time. Also, it seemed more like the instructor just wanted to give you the experience so you don't freeze when the real thing happens.

Jeez haven't thought about that in awhile. Thank goodness it was a fleeting nightmare

allnurses Guide · Oct 29, 2011

We have two way mirrors, microphones, high fidelity mannequins that blink, speak, have peripheral pulses, respirations, give BP and one that even gives birth, complete with a cervix that changes and a bag of water that breaks. The instructors put tattoos on them, scars, decubitus ulcers and anything and everything under the sun. It is pretty entertaining. The EMT instructors tend to "run" the mannequins and yeah, they get pretty funny/silly in their comments. Its fun