My Opinion on Simulation Lab

In the simulation lab, there are these one-way mirrors, and it’s set up so that instructors are sitting in a room watching you through those mirrors, but you can’t see them. Creepy much? It makes me so nervous that I can’t think straight. This means I tend to do some really stupid things that convince me that I’m going to be a horrible nurse. Plus, in the “hospital room” when we are with the “patient” (a mannequin), we also have an instructor standing in there watching us. The instructor isn’t allowed to say anything or to help us with the scenario, but he/she stands there watching us like a hawk. Again…unnerving and creepy. I think the idea behind simulation is great. We get to practice situations that we may see in real life in an environment where we can’t actually hurt a live patient. We’re able to make mistakes because mannequins, unlike people, can always be brought back/fixed if we accidentally harm/kill them. We basically have to be drama majors because we have to pretend and act as if the mannequins are real. This isn’t something I’m good at because I have no “imagination”. I feel so strange talking to a horribly overpriced doll. For me personally, my nervousness at having my every move watched and critiqued combined with my lack of imagination keeps me from getting everything out of simulation that I could be getting out of it. I think being in the actual clinical setting creates an environment that is more conducive to learning. The one thing I do really like about simulation is the debriefing we have afterwards where we just talk about the scenario we did including what we did right, what we could have done better, etc. I learn the most from that. What are your thoughts on simulations?