Simulation Reflection

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

The simulation environment offers a safe place for students to practice critical scenarios and gain confidence in proscribed settings (Decker, Sportsman, Puetz, & Billings, 2008). Simulation helps faculty to facilitate learning which meets one of the NLN’s core competencies. Simulation also enhances communication through emerging leadership and delegation skills, and builds teamwork through goal and priority setting (Dillon, Noble, & Kaplan, 2009). Therefore, according to Lasater (2007) simulation is highly effective as an adjunct teaching strategy in clinical practice.

-Simulation allows individuals to “learn, practice, and repeat procedures as often as necessary in order to correct mistakes, fine-tune their sills and optimize clinical outcomes” (Patow, 2005). This results in improved skills without harm to the real patients and improved self-confidence in clinical practice.

Simulation based learning develops skills, knowledge, and attitudes in staff that otherwise cannot be experienced. The staff are put in the client’s position and give them a better understanding of daily struggles. Also puts the focus on the client instead of task completion. 14

During the simulation I needed to make quick decisions on what to do and how to help. I was the float nurse during the simulation so my job was to help any of the other nurse, staff. There were several times during the simulation that a child was crying or screaming so I had to think on my feet to help them. One example was when I was helping patient number 3, she has started to choke so I held her up so that her nurse, Rylie, was able to suction her without problem. After we suctioned her she stopped crying and seemed to be less irritated. When helping with patient 1 I need to explain to her how to use an incentive spirometry. She is only 7 years old so I needed to explain how to use it at an appropriate level. I used to colors to help explain and let her tough it to help her feel comfortable. During the simulation I was jumping from room to room helping the patient and nurses so I need to keep my prioritizes organized and help the nurses as much as I could.

My interest in this topic is a result of recent experiences with Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 (DMI), especially with the following two instances: a young adult patient admitted at the hospital following a DKA episode during one of my nursing rotations and one of my instructors with type 1 diabetes. Also, my father was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, this has increased my eagerness to study and explore more about the disease.

Being the primary nurse, I assigned each of my group members to a specific task. I assigned one colleague to assess the vital signs of the patient. In the scenario there were two medications that should be administered to the

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.

Our team has taken a decision to use different change levers to persuade each other and take votes for a democratic choice selection in case of any disagreement. What was seemed a disadvantage in the beginning of the simulation, later turned out to be a good learning experience for me at a personal level. After almost eleven months into the MBA program and different group assignments throughout the year, none of my team members had experience of working with one another. This factor has played a role for my fear of having a disadvantage for the simulation and in the end, I was proved wrong and learned the lesson. We had a very diversified group of people from different parts of the World and not with zero experience of working with each other had set a perfect stage for the simulation which was all about managing complexity in a team of highly diversified people with two Indian men, two Chinese women, and a Brazilian man. A quick introduction in combination with pressure to perform under a stiff time frame has settled the initial difficulty to get things going. With the approach of learning from doing and an open mindedness, we started pretty early with the simulation without spending much of time. Although

Sometimes failure can really be the best teacher. This was the case with the Lakeview Regional Hospital Simulation Exercise. During the simulation, I learned a lot about working with a team, knowing when to stand firm and when to compromise. I have been a part of plenty of projects, but sometimes I can be a little lost when it comes to the healthcare aspects of things. It was during these times that I looked to my teammates to assist with filling in some valuable blanks about the healthcare environment. I do have a lot of experience with introducing technology, training and media relations. It was during these parts of the simulation that I could really lend a helping hand. The simulation illustrated the importance of buy-in amongst the implementation team as well as other members of the entire organizations. It showed that there will always be some inherent resistance, but that doesn’t mean that change is impossible as long as there is some flexibility.

The estimated time for the teaching session is approximately 3 hours. In the first hour I will give a brief overview of what diabetes is and how it can be controlled with insulin. First I will include a very simple explanation of the pathophysiology of the disease and the signs and symptoms that are common. Next, I will explain that when controlling diabetes, her blood sugar can become too high or too low. High blood sugar, or hyperglycemia is caused by eating too much food, eating sugary foods, or by not taking insulin as prescribed. Signs of high blood sugar include: dry mouth, thirsty, having to urinate often, blurry vision, feeling tired, and weight loss. If high blood sugar is not treated, it can cause you to go into a coma (Aldridge, 2005 p.36-37). When you have high blood sugar, drink water and take your insulin according to the sliding scale your doctor has provided. Low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, can occur

Hospitals are working towards a more team-based training. The last couple years most of my training has been in a simulation lab. I feel it improves communication, teamwork, reinforces skills and new practices. Hands-on simulation experience allows healthcare workers to get messy, make mistakes and sharpen problem-solving skills — with no risk to patients. As nurses, we collaborate with each other on a daily basis but we are trained and tested individually on our skills, theory, and practical situations. As healthcare evolves, stimulation labs should be part of all healthcare works training and testing, that way everyone is better prepared to handle real time events.

The group I was part of first was the simulation group. The role I was suppose to play was Coordinator. Although I wasn't sure I played the part well, as I wasn't sure how play as one to be quite frank.

Over the past three weeks in the University of Phoenix Marketing Management class, I have completed three simulations based on real life marketing situations. The first simulation was titled, "Forecasting Market Demand." This simulation discussed the importance of determining the future demand for your product in the voice commanded software industry. The marketing team for the new Listensoft software needed to accurately forecast the production capacity of the new product and the pricing strategy. This task is especially difficult because human behavior is difficult to predict. Forecasting behavior "…is about generating numbers out of expectations, opinions, statements, prior patterns and a host of other subjective elements" (Forecasting

Today was my last day of simulation lab. I was feeling a little sad, however, excited that I am almost graduating. Every first week or a week before the new term starts, I always check my email from school administration to see if I received an email for my day(s) to attend simulation. I always dread checking my email. I get anxious and somewhat having a panic attacks when I get the email of my simulation day.