Out of Class and Into Clinicals

"The Future of Clinical Education is Simulation" by HCA Healthcare

Your Clinical Experience

You’ve learned how to listen for lung sounds in your textbook, but can you listen for them on a stranger or even a mannequin? I’m not talking about mannequins that lay lifelessly on the floor; I’m talking about computerized mannequins that can blink, breathe, and even speak. Nursing students are no longer limited to the traditional way of going to the hospital to gain experience. Each school implements its clinicals differently, and a school that includes simulation clinicals, in addition to hospital clinicals, provides realistic opportunities for students to experience a variety of health conditions and develop valuable nursing and interpersonal skills in a harmless learning environment.

Traditional Clinicals

In traditional clinicals, students typically follow a nurse at a hospital, fetch supplies, routinely take vital signs, and administer medications. Although students familiarize themselves in this hospital environment, they may not receive adequate opportunities to develop essential nursing skills, such as decision making or collaborating with other members of the healthcare team. Factors such as nurses' varied teaching styles, patients with medical problems that don’t require much care, or patients away for medical procedures hinder students from progressing their skills and reduce students’ exposure to diverse problems.

A look inside a simulation lab. "Simulation lab" by Eastern University

Simulation Clinicals

Simulation clinicals fill in these learning gaps. Located in the school’s high-tech simulation lab, students practice hands-on, critical thinking, and prioritization skills on a mannequin that resembles a patient, operated by the labs’ technicians and students’ clinical instructor. Students do a made-up scenario, in pairs or in groups, while the other students observe to provide constructive feedback afterward. These scenarios are complete with critical patient problems, such as needing resuscitation, responding to abnormal signs and symptoms, making phone calls, and even communicating with family members played by other students. One study has proven that simulations are an effective alternative to hospital clinicals. Students whose clinical experiences were 50% traditional and 50% simulations had higher self-confidence and felt better prepared to become a nurse at the end of the program (Hayden, et al.). Simulations create optimal learning environments where students encounter health conditions that are important for students to experience but may rarely get the chance to in a traditional clinical setting.

Clinical simulations may seem appealing, but for others, it can increase stress and anxiety. For example, having students observe the scenario can affect the students’ performance during the simulation which, consequently, prevents this experience from becoming a learning opportunity. However, schools can accommodate for this by having discussions before and after the scenario for reflection, giving students a tour of the facility and reviewing how equipment works, or even listening to music (Gosselin, et al.) to decrease their stress.

Learning Outside of the Classroom

While what you learn from the classroom is important, what you learn from your clinical experiences is equally important. Knowing how a nursing school implements clinicals affects your experience and how you practice the critical thinking and nursing skills you learn in lecture and lab. For a well-rounded nursing school experience, a nursing program that incorporates simulation clinicals will prepare you the most and give you the confidence you need to become a successful nurse.

Sources:

Eastern University. "Simulation lab." Digital image. Nursing Resource & Simulation (NRS) Lab, www.eastern.edu/academics/college-health-and-social-sciences/departments/nursing-department/nursing-programs/bsn-3. Accessed 15 Nov. 2019.

Gosselin, Kevin P., et al. "Music for Anxiety Reduction and Performance Enhancement in Nursing Simulation." Clinical Simulation in Nursing, vol. 12, no. 1, Jan. 2016, pp. 16-23, Elsevier ScienceDirect. doi:10.1016/j.ecns.2015.12.002. Accessed 4 Nov. 2019.

Hayden, Jennifer K., et al. "The NCSBN National Simulation Study: A Longitudinal, Randomized, Controlled Study Replacing Clinical Hours with Simulation in Prelicensure Nursing Education." Journal of Nursing Regulation, vol. 5, no. 2, July 2014, pp. S3-S40, doi:10.1016/S2155-8256(15)30062-4. Accessed 4 Nov. 2019.

HCA Healthcare. The Future of Clinical Education is Simulation. Digital image. HCA Today, 17 July 2018, hcatodayblog.com/2018/07/17/the-future-of-clinical-education-is-simulation/. Accessed 15 Nov. 2019.

UCLA School of Nursing. "Simulation Lab | UCLA School of Nursing." YouTube, 23 Apr. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac4qapf82VU. Accessed 15 Nov. 2019.