Do you practice your skills on dummies/mannequins

pharmgirl · Aug 7, 2009

We have mannequins in our lab that we practice all skills on, then we are "checked off" meaning tested on the skills. All of this is done in the lab before we do it on real people.

XYcsccSN · Aug 7, 2009

Yep...most schools have you do the skill in lab on a mannequin and get checked off. However, I think using the mannequins is not helpful. I hate playing pretend in the lab so I have never been to an open lab to practice anything above getting checked off.

NamasteNurse, BSN, RN · Aug 7, 2009

we are very lucky to have a lab as part of our schooling. We practice and practice on mannequins first.

SnowRain7489 · Aug 7, 2009

I read the procedure, write it in my own words on a separate sheet of paper to condense it, circle key words, then practice it on mannequins. Sometimes if I don't want to walk all the way over to the lab I pretend like I have a mannequin on my bed or in my chair & I "perform" the skills and talk to them. Yes I talk out loud to myself, yes it's goofy, but if I master the skill and get an A...it's worth it. I talk to the "mannequin" and mannequin because this reduces any level of anxiety that you may have. Hey, you're not being tested on when you're practicing it right, so you can start over and over and over and over again until you get it right - and you should do this. Just don't practice it for 1 day and be done w/ it, spread it out over a period of days. You can also have a classmate next to you ask them to pretend to be the teacher and quiz you or critique you and be harsh on what you are doing. This may not sound so nice I know, but when I'm studying w/ others (which is rare) I ask them difficult questions to push them to know the right answer and challenge them and I expect them to do the same to me so that I'm well prepared too.

Nepenthe Sea · Aug 8, 2009

We had dummies. Some of them are really cool, and have blood pressures, respirations, pulses, etc. We have three sim mannequins that are controlled by computers to produce different patient scenarios. Haven't gotten NEAR those yet, though!

I always watched the videos relating to whatever skill we were learning prior to the demonstration, so that I would know what to expect. And I practiced like mad!

K.P.A. · Aug 8, 2009

Wouldn't it be better for students to practice on fellow students so all might experience what the patient will?

Goingthere · Aug 8, 2009

Schools should have mannnequinns (sp?) I think practicing on humans is way too scary. One thing that I have noticed is that despite practicing on the dummies, once you have to do it on a human, it's nerve recking all over again. As for practicing on other students, would you want some one to practice inserting a Foley on you....ouch, I wouldn't.

AirforceRN, RN · Aug 8, 2009

Wouldn't it be better for students to practice on fellow students so all might experience what the patient will?

Maybe for auscultation...I'm not going to let a student insert a foley on me "just for practice" haha.

Where I work I run simulations for a variety of different team members (this is with the high fidelity mannequins). The scenarios often include intubation, chest tube insertion, needle decompressions etc. I often get feedback that "its not the same as on a real person" and that's totally correct. No matter how much you spend on a dummy, it will never be a live person, however...

1) You get excellent practice with sterile fields...where to put your hands, how to set up your trays, how to position your patient etc.

2) If scenarios are run properly, my "patients" will often end up with 2 IV lines, a foley, a chest tube connected to a pleurovac, a 3 or 5 lead EKG and oxygen. If nothing else, this gives the team experience in working in a crowded environment where they have to duck under, walk around, move aside, organize various pieces of equipment. It sounds like a small thing but it makes people more aware of their surroundings.

3) Scenarios can only be as real as the participants want them to be. If students aren't "into" the sim, no matter how much time I spend on moulage and make up, its going to be a failure. The best sims are the ones where the students are pumped, pushed a little bit beyond their comfort zone and are working well as a team.

Just my experience

anoon · Aug 10, 2009

We ALWAYS practiced on a mannequin first. I was never allowed to touch a real patient until I had shown proficiency on a mannequin. I was thankful for that, although I came into nursing school after working as a CNA through high school, I still appreciated the real time run through with the professor (if not only for the look at what she would expect in "real" clinical!).

Hope this helps,

Amber N.

melmarie23, MSN, RN · Aug 10, 2009

yeah we have a lab that has the SIMS dummies in there. It helps even though role playing and talking to something that cant talk back is a bit weird.

The only thing we couldnt really practice on the SIMS was NGs and trachs. Its hard to get those in because the dummies are not all that flexible.

So we practiced crushing meds and passing them through the NG tube over the sinks to get a feel how to regulate the flow and how to prevent air bubbles and the like. For any other skills we were unable to practice on the SIMs we had supplemental videos that came in a bundle with our Fundamentals book.

rubystar · Aug 10, 2009

We did where possible and we had to pretend it was a real patient when it came to skills testing.