Having troubles...

I am sorry. Our school has a lab like you describe and it was very hard for me to learn how to "act" and that's truly what it is. You are an actress. Try practicing more with the mannequins; talk to them when you practice as if you're doing a simulation. The more you do it, the more comfortable you feel. I'm in my last semester, graduating in December and am still not completely comfortable with it but you learn that 'it is what it is'. It's temporary. Good luck to you and losing weight shouldn't make you sad; especially in nursing school. Way to go!

its so weird trying to talk to these mannequins with these god awful expressions on their faces...trying to console them as you jam a NG tube down their sniffer.... yeah.

i like my human patients better :)

Yes, I completely understand how you feel. My school also has a lab similar to that of your school. At first I felt foolish walking in and introducing myself to a mannequin, but as the time goes on you will get more comfortable with it because technically there is no other option. If you think introducing yourself is uncomfortable wait until you have to insert a catheter, and NG tube, suction a Tracheostomy, central line dressing change, administering meds via several routes, and then having to do a head to toe assessment all on a mannequin. BTW the list goes on. Just try to treat them as you would a regular patient and you will do fine. I know it can be hard at the beginning because it was for me, but I quickly snapped out of it and did what I had to do in order to pass the class. Good LucK!

Welcome to the wonderful world of simulation!! Hopefully, your school is dong it's best to duplicate the 'real world'. As state of the art as the mannequins may be, they are not real. But it is the best we can do right now, to prepare you for real human interaction. Just think of it as talking to a patient who is confused or unconscious; they won't answer you either, nor will they necessarily show any real facial expression

With anything in life, repitition helps you to master a skill (AKA Practice makes perfect ). Even communication. No, you do not get the real human feeling. But you do get practice on how to speak to patients. Case in point:

"Hi, I am Jenny, a student nurse at all nurses college, I am here to administer your furosemide (incorrect emphasis on the last syllable)".

"Huh?"

"Your furosemide, you know, your diuretic"

"Huh?"

"The phyiscian ordered this for you, you must take it".

I'll bet you 20 bucks if you said "I have your LASIX, or your "water pill", you'd yield better results.

One of my major pet peeves is when students talk above the level of a patient... and they don't even realize it.

I'm assuming your in 101, but maybe that's incorrect. I teach 2nd level, and students still need cues on how to speak to patients. I had a situation the other day where the primary RN was with one of our patients, and he was complaining about something. He was not happy, (and it had to do with his symptoms). So my student comes in and goes into her robotic speech, and ends it with "how are you feeling?" I cringed. Because I knew exactly what he was going to say (and he did)... "How does it sound like I am feeling?" She had no clue that she needed to change her script, based on what we just observed.

Anyway, my point is, communication is an intergral part of the clincial experience. I've ran some really fun simulations, where one of the students was a parent, and they acted very well (while their baby's sats were dropping, and was gasping for air. The students were forced to think on their feet and reply to them, while handling the situation. Just like they would have to in real life.

you get over it.or dont pass basically...i think most of us felt this way..and i'm a drama queen! It's fun now1