Nursing Simulation Lab

[luckynurse_1234]

My question is, how do you not choke when you are completing a nursing skills simulation lab? I know I am supposed to feel lucky my school has a sim lab, but I hate it. Performing skills on mannequins is nothing like real life, and to top it all off you have an instructor standing behind you breathing down your neck. They are supposed to speak for the patient, but they are highly selective on how helpful they are going to be. So far I have squeaked by, but on Friday we have a huge one and it's 10% of our course grade.

[Cheer4WVU]

Well, I'll be honest with you. It sucks and it's not going to get any better for a while, lol. The best thing you can do is study the skills that you may have to perform, and go to sim lab to practice (if your school lets you) as much as you can. We have a sim lab here at WVU, but we don't do compentensies on them. Instead, we had to do it on a real person (not sick of course), with a made up problem, made up kardex, and everything. It was really hard and stressfull because you have so many possible problems that jump out at you. Just take a deep breath and go with your gut instinct. Ask a lot of questions to get to the root of the problem. If you catch yourself make a mistake, tell the teacher so it will show that you know you messed up. Don't overlook the obvious. Pay close attention to vitals/labs. Know what's normal and what isn't normal. Really, just don't be scared to keep asking questions, and if the teacher doesn't give you a good answer, don't get frustrated. Most of all, take your time. I hope this helps. I did not do very well on my first competency. These are some of the mistakes that I made because I was so nervous that I blanked. Good Luck! Let us know how it went, good or bad, but hopefully good =)

[mcknis]

Relax, and take a deep breath. I know it is easier said than done, but once you are out of it, you will think...boy, was that easy or what!