I froze!

Nursing Students General Students

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Hi, we had our first simulation lab today. It was to test our therapeutic responses to different clinical situations. We have a lab with a dummy that is controlled by someone behind a mirror that speaks as the patient. Anyhow, my "patient" was in a bed and I was supposed to be a home health nurse going to his house to check up on him post surgery. I came in, introduced myself and asked about meds, pain etc. Then out of no where the "patient" said "Did the doctor tell you I'm going to die?" And I totally panicked! I didn't know how to respond. I just said "umm no I don't think so", and there was a big LONG silence and I asked if he had any relatives or support to come visit, etc. When we debriefed it was clear I was should have asked, "Did the doctor tell you you're going to die?" and go from there. But I feel so stupid that I completely froze. Part of it is because the rest of my clinical group are behind one-way glass watching all of this on camera! It is a little scary to be new and have people listening to your every word! Anyhow, I'm really beating myself up for not responding "therapeutically." :(

Advice?

Thanks, J

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Specializes in Surgical/Telemetry.

I would say to not feel to bad. While you didn't give the 'exact' answer they were looking for, at least you did not lie to the patient by saying no, or stress the patient by saying yes. You also took some good steps by asking about support :) Anyway, you'll get more practice with that in therapeutic communication and other nursing classes/labs/clinicals. You'll do great!

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Specializes in Medical-Oncology.

Hi! I too go to the same school and all I have to say is No Worries!!! I think that most of my cohort would agree - that section is very stressfull (in fact, it was my least favorite part of that class.) I can honestly say that NOBODY responded very well! Just wait: you will have so many lessons for Therapeutic Communication that you will find yourself therapeutically communicating with everyone you know! (You might even find yourself one day on the phone with your best friend: "Wow, you couldn't find the right shoes to go with your dress? How did that make you feel?")

Don't worry - Think about it this way - Therapeutic Communication is a skill, and just like any other skill, it takes practice.

Good luck with the program!

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Well, the point of being surprised by the statement is so that when you are working with a real patient you aren't. It isn't just the exact words you say, although maybe your clinical instructor is trying to get you to spew out a certain phrase. It's more that this sort of question should red flag you to not continue asking prepared questions and to find out what is going on with your client, who is obviously very worried about dying. It seems out of the blue, but really it is a typical scenario, I mean it happens all the time. The last time for me was last night in the ED...

It's important for school, and also for the job, to identify these red flag statements. So no worries, you are starting to learn now about the profession and learning to communicate etc... Don't worry about not saying the right thing in a clinical setting, next time when it is with a real patient, I'm sure you won;tforget the lesson and will recognize the red flag and address it. best wishes:nurse:

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You are a student. You are LEARNING. That is the purpose of the clinical experience. I bet that next time you do GREAT!!!

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Thanks for your posts. I think the reason I choked was actually the fact that I new I was being watched by my peers and instructors - in real life I think I may be more calm and able to think of better wording - I guess it was my initiation into nursing!

J

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Specializes in Operating Room.

Do not feel bad.

This is the reason for labs....to learn. Mistakes happen in lab, and you learn from them. I think you did.

Good luck!

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