Did anybody buy a nursing mannikin to practice skills at home?

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Specializes in LTC, Med-surg.

I took a semester off because I was probably going to fail clinical. It was my first semester of my senior year and I was doing well in the theory course but not doing well on the clinical.

I am retaking that course again in the Fall 2014 but besides for taking up

a job as a CNA in a long-term care facility- I have not had the chance to do any of my RN nursing skills. I'm scared that come time to retake the course and its clinical, I will be rusty

and not do well again.

So, I thought it would be an interesting idea to purchase one of those nursing mannikins

like in the nursing lab. I think it would be neat to have my very own mannikin to practice skills on.

What do you guys think of this idea? Do you recommend this? Or, if you guys have known someone who failed out on their second to last semester of a BSN program but retook it and succeeded, could you tell me what they did to turn things around the 2nd time?

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Specializes in Neuro, Telemetry.

Keep in mind, the nursing school mannequins are VERY expensive. Honestly, you should be fine. Most skills can be practiced on large teddy bears (just to get the motions down) so when you get to skils lab, it will be easier to pick up. Also see if your school offers extra lab days and use all of them.

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I used a super squishy teddy bear at home for wound care and a piece of pool noodle for pretty much everything else. I taped a section of pool noodle to the back of a Rubbermaid container and used it to practice IV inserts, blood draws, stuck the cap from a marker in the hole to practice trach cleaning, etc. I had a piece of cardboard cut to the size of a bedside tabletop so I didn't over over-exaggerate the space I had to work with. You can get very creative (cheaply!) when you want to practice at home ;)

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You can purchase a very simple one, like a "Simple Susie" for around $700, but something like what you will find in a well-equipped sim lab will run many thousands of $$$. My wife hated peds when she was doing her undergrad. We don't have kids and she just couldn't seem to relate to them at all. We had quite a collection of baby dolls and teddy bears with yellow sticky notes stuck to them all over the place. I'm sure that it looked a bit creepy to anyone who didn't know what they were for, but it worked. Plus, after peds, the sticky notes came off and the dolls and bears went off to a new purpose at a hospital.

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Specializes in Forensic Psych.

I think there are much cheaper ways to practice. Like on friends and family members. Cath an empty water bottle. Things like that.

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Specializes in Med/ Surg/ Telemetry, Public Health.

I use my daughter's doll for IV insertion and other skills. I use my daughter to do a physical assessment, she loves it then she has to in return practice on me. At my school we have times that you can go into skills lab to practice. Use any family members if they let you. Those manikins cost a lot of money, especially the simulated ones. You will be fine without buying a manikin.

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Specializes in LTC, Med-surg.

Thanks for your comments and tips for this thread. I actually planned on buying it from ebay

but someone got to it before I did so I bought one on amazon.

Amazon.com: Demonstration Human Manikin for Nursing Medical Training, Female, Life Size: Industrial & Scientific

It cost me about $350 but its an investment.

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Specializes in Intermediate Care.

I second the teddy bear suggestion.. That's exactly what I did to practice all of my nursing skill outside of my schools open lab.

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I used a super squishy teddy bear at home for wound care and a piece of pool noodle for pretty much everything else. I taped a section of pool noodle to the back of a Rubbermaid container and used it to practice IV inserts, blood draws, stuck the cap from a marker in the hole to practice trach cleaning, etc. I had a piece of cardboard cut to the size of a bedside tabletop so I didn't over over-exaggerate the space I had to work with. You can get very creative (cheaply!) when you want to practice at home ;)

Genius! Looks like I'll be buying a pool noodle...

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I made a wound out of playdough, used a piece of an IV line to practive inserting IVs, A cup with a whole in it for trach care and inserting foleys. Cheap alternatives. lol.

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It cost me about $350 but its an investment.

Ouch! I would never, ever, ever spend that kind of money to buy a manikin. Just my personal opinion, but seems like a wasteful extravagance. What am I paying tuition and fees for if I have to buy my own dummy?!

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

as an older nurse let me remind you that technical skills are the easiet part of nursing. If you know the reasons why you are doing it, and can recite the steps of the process, you are probably good to go. It is more important that you work on critical thinking than technical skills.

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