Capstone Project : Nursing Simulation Essay

COPD- preventable and treatable disease state characterized by chronic airflow limitation that is not fully reversible. The airflow limitation is usually progressive and associated with an abnormal inflammatory response of the lungs to noxious particles or gases, primarily caused by cigarette smoking.

This simulation experience allowed me to practice my focused assessment skills, delegation of tasks, prioritization on of tasks, interdisciplinary communication skills, and skills that I have not been able to participate in such as blood administration. I learned that my strengths are patient education, delegation, noticing changes in patient condition, and working as a member of a team. I need to improve my speed of completing tasks, my confidence, and my process of working through new skills.

The aim of this essay is to reflect and discuss my knowledge acquired in a simulated learning skill experience which forms part of my training as a student nurse in accordance with the Nurses and Midwifery Council (NMC 2010).

The intent of clinical simulations is to provide a safe environment for students to practice and implement skills. This is a way in which to help prepare the student for the hospital setting. Enhanced confidence, clinical judgment, knowledge, and competence are factors that come from these situations. I gained further knowledge, but I did not experience the other skills during simulation. During the postpartum-hemorrhage and birthing simulation, I purposefully picked the scenarios that I felt most comfortable with. That entailed being the spouse of the woman in labor, the nursing assistant, and the patient’s family member. When embodying those roles, I felt at ease, because I was not the fixation; I was not the one in charge of the situation. During the preeclampsia simulation, I was “dubbed” the staff nurse. I was definitely out of my comfort zone. I was in the second group, and this allowed me to observe the first group. I learned and made alterations from the first group’s performance. Observing the first group helped, but my performance was poor. I made several mistakes and was embarrassed by the end result. I did not do well with the assessments, answering the patient’s questions appropriately, and when calling the doctor, I was not fully prepared. Despite all the mistakes and feelings of embarrassment, I learned. I am very thankful for the awareness of what things went wrong. With further practice and

My chosen practicum will be teaching in the skills/simulation lab at NCMC. This paper will outline how the experience will enhance my knowledge and develop skills necessary to fulfill the role of nurse educator. The goals, objectives, and timeline will be discussed in this paper. The project that will be developed during the practicum experience will be a debriefing philosophy and evaluation tool to assess student learning with emphasis on critical thinking skills.

Since the capstone project started early on beginning of the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program, I was able to discuss and work personally with Dr. Spicer as my practice mentor in selecting the appropriate topic for my project. Dr. Spicer was very involved in choosing my second option for new capstone project # 1 related to simulation lab and faculty teaching and learning. The patient simulation laboratory (SIM lab) uses state-of-the-art equipment that provides students and faculty with the opportunity to tackle real-life scenarios in a safe and supported environment. Further, I learned that active learning involves the faculty through participation and investment in exploring content knowledge in all phases of the learning process. It requires educational activities that provide faculty with the opportunity to engage actively in courses and respond to the learning situation.

Proceeding each offering of courses, evaluation occurs and is shared with faculty course members and the Director of the School of Nursing. The evaluation is utilized to improve the teaching and learning strategies to enhance achievement of learning outcomes for subsequent semesters. The curriculum committee’s responsibility is to review the nursing courses for rigor, currency, and integrity and present new recommendations to faculty based on this review. Faculty will consider current changes by a majority vote.

Nursing is constantly evolving and adapting to the current population, and with the elderly population increasing exponentially, nurses are inevitably affected by these changes. The baby boomers are getting older, changing healthcare as they go. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, those who are ages 65 and older are expected to increase 17% by 2020. By the recent demographics shift, nursing practice is affected as there becomes a greater need for nurses to be able to guide those who suffer with multiple chronic conditions, specialize in geriatrics, and also care for the mental health of the elderly.

With the increasing demands in Healthcare needs, newly licensed competent nurses are a commodity that simply do not exist. Every year there are new nurses graduating from associate and bachelor’s degree programs that enter the work force. Nursing students whom complete their degree program, whether it be an associates or bachelor degree sit to take the same state sanctioned nursing licensure exam. Upon successful completion of this exam a student quickly transitions from student to professional, in as little as two days, and is now deemed competent to practice safely and effectively. Unfortunately for new nurses whom enter the workforce, they are subjected to an environment that nursing schools simply cannot simulate accurately, and therefore not prepare students for. New nurses are expected to come out of school, especially by the patients they tend to, with competencies that are unrealistic. The reality is that new nurses lack skills that allow them to perform at a truly competent level. What this paper will discuss are the competencies that new graduate nurses enter the work force with compared to what is actually required in order to be proficient in this professional field. This paper will also discuss how the transition from student to professional can be facilitated through extensive orientation programs that have been proven to elevate nurses from novice to professional.

For the next simulation, I am hoping that I have improved my critical thinking skills in nursing to effectively perform whatever role I will have. Moreover, since simulations are actual situations in real life clinical settings that are being played out by the students, I will research on applicable evidenced based nursing intervention and applied it during the simulation. Applying this type of intervention during the simulation will reinforce my knowledge of effective nursing intervention and will enable me to acquire a more meaningful experience that could be applied in actual clinical setting. I will also try my very best to find out what possible equipment will be used in carrying out nursing care for a given clinical

In today’s world of nursing the importance of finding ways to teach the younger generation can be a challenge. The world of cardiac nursing is not an exception to the rule. The millennial generation in particular tends to learn best through active participation (Montenery et al., 2013). Simulation manikins may be a tool that could greatly increase the amount of knowledge by the nursing students of today. The cardiac simulation manikins are not cheap, but with proper thought and planning the right program may be an asset to the learning needs of the nursing student.

The utilization of HFS in nursing simulation is widely supported by several nursing governing bodies, leaders in nursing education and nursing education literature. Implications for nurse education relate to educators recognizing HFS as an effective student-centered learning and teaching strategy. By incorporating HFS into nursing curriculum, educators give students ample opportunities to develop and practice skills as well as using their prior knowledge in a safe environment without

For years nurses have gained experience in the medical field through clinical rounds at hospitals and doctors offices. Learning has always taken place first through textbooks and then through personal experience during required clinical time. These methods have proven effective but include limitations to the amount of exposure a student can gain before entering the workforce. A new way of learning is on the rise with the use of High Fidelity Simulations (HFS) or the Sim Man. HFS is a computerized life size manikin that simulates real human responses to treatment. This new technology allows students to practice rare procedures or treat common diagnoses.

There are three types of simulation and they are, Low-fidelity simulation Intermediate-fidelity simulation and High-fidelity simulation (HFS) is help to experiential learning using life-size manikins with actual physiological responses, and sophisticated interactive ability in realistic scenarios. Students can make, detect and correct patient care errors without negative consequences(Nagle, McHale, Alexander, & French, 2009). High-fidelity simulation help to support the trainees confidence and competence from the theory to the clinical environment. (Bambini, Washburn, & Perkins, 2009)The simulations support discussions among the trainees, which concern on different aspects of their professional practice, and could improve the achievement and improve of clinical skills. HFS help to improve team collaboration and communication in the training program ((Birkhoff & Donner, 2010; Ling, Xiaohong, & Xiaoping,

Research shows that novice nurses find it difficult to handle patient situation properly in the event that their condition rapidly deteriorate. Barbara Aronson (PhD, RN, and CNE) and her colleague Barbara Glynn (DNP, RN-BC) conducted the research. The title of the article was clearly stated and it focused on the effectiveness of a role- modeling intervention on student nurse simulation competency. The researchers used quasi -experimental studies to conduct a pre-test and post-test study to evaluate whether student been exposed to the role- modeling intervention simulation competency will be able to handle patient conditions better than student not exposed to that intervention. The study was been