Comparing Virtual Sim to F2F Interactions: My Experience as a Nursing Student - Essay Sample

How did this virtual simulation compare to your face to face (f2f) interactions with patients? Did you miss your f2f? Consider the actual scenarios and what was going on with Ms. Estelle Hatcher and Ms. EvaMea Smith.

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In all my years as a nursing student, I had not come across virtual simulation as a tool for offering clinical services. My studies have been practical, involving face to face meetings with patients. I have always preferred this method since it allows me to interact with my patients and understand their concerns. The traditional techniques have still built confidence in me when proving the competency of my skills. It has given me opportunities to offer quality care to my patients, thus improving my reputation and experience. However, getting exposed to virtual simulation was quite tricky at first. I found it to be too modern such that I would not interact with my patients personally. However, the availability of virtual experts eased the situation making the method to impact positively on my experience and nursing career.

The virtual simulation experts allowed me to repeatedly practice the method until I could achieve the highest score. Applying simulation will enable one to develop a deeper understanding of the answers discovered for each question. The simulation also gives student nurses the chance to identify their wrongs and correct or learn from their mistakes. It is also simpler to use and less time-consuming as compared to the traditional method of face-to-face. The simulation also gave me a chance to explore and improve my nursing expertise. Contrarily, face to face method grew my therapeutic communication skills with my patients. I would listen, comprehend, reflect, and avail myself whenever my patients asked for it. However, this method requires extra care when handling patients. Chances for flipping and making clinical mistakes are numerous, and this may affect the life and wellbeing of the patient.

During the simulation exercise, I was assigned two patients, Ms. EvaMea Smith, and Ms. Estelle Hatcher. Ms. Hatcher was 31 years old and had been admitted to the hospital for appendicitis. It was her first day of post-operation appendectomy and had no allergies. Her wound was clean and intact. She, however, explained cases of severe pain in the nasal area. The mouth (NPO) and nasogastric (NG) tube showed low continuous suction. She needed IV maintenance of fluids in her left forearm. She, however, showed improvement in active bowel sounds and could move with minimal assistance from her family. Conversely, 90-year-old EvaMea was suffering from diabetes. She had to receive medication three times a day at 0900, 1200, and 1800.

What did you learn from this simulation, and how will you apply this to your future practice as a nurse?

In the simulation exercise, I learned that virtual clinical simulation has three significant sections. First, the nurse is involved in the Medsurg task, where the virtual simulation system introduces learners to scenarios. The first patient I was oriented with was Ms. Estelle Hatcher. Five case scenarios are provided where each learner has to view and choose answers for the attached questions. From the scenes, I unknowingly wanted the wrong answers for some items. The wrong answers resulted from the inappropriate delegation and prioritization of situations. In the end, I learned how to develop intensive explanations for different nursing aspects.

In the second section, I had to give medicine to Ms. EvaMea Smith by following the Medication Administration Rights. The regulations include the right patient for the right drug offered in the correct dosage, at the right time, through the right channel, and documented correctly. Fulfilling these regulations needs me to check the patient's wrist band to ensure that I give medication to the right patient. Once done, I should check the time designed for medicine, the prescription, precautions, and dosage for the intended patient. After passing the drug to the patient, I would enter the details in the right documents. The medication process impacted positively on my critical thinking skills and the ability to carry out appropriate diagnoses for each patient. The accuracy of virtual simulation would, therefore, help me avoid human errors in my practice for the safety of my patients.

Math Refresher was the last part of the simulation exercise. Fifteen challenges were encompassing the calculation of additional drugs required, the number of tablets for each dose, the dosage estimates, the output and inputs, and rounding off the obtained answers to the nearest tenth or hundredth. The aspects of this section were quite complex, requiring me to differentiate between inputs and outputs in clinical practice. The simulation process described data as ice cream, IV infusion, gelatin, and coffee. Fruits, oatmeal, and salads were disregarded as inputs in the simulation process even though this is what many of us thought. The insight I developed from virtual simulation would help in widening my nursing experience.

Given Estelle Hatcher's and EvaMea Smith's scenario, if you had to do it again, what would you do differently? (be honest).

As a nursing practitioner, virtual simulation game me an opportunity to identify, understand, and reflect on the issues that affect nursing practice. Visual simulation failed in providing raw data on the patient. For instance, there was no real description of how Ms. Hatcher expressed her pains.NO information explained the pain she felt by body language. Subjective data is usually essential in drawing more insight into the patient's situation. It is generally obtained from the traditional method of face-to-face. However, in this case, compiled data was obtained without the real body communication of the patient. If I am allowed to repeat the virtual simulation process or instead apply it in future needs, I will use my critical thinking skills to identify the subjective data from the patient. In so doing, I would restructure my nursing care plan to fit her needs and make it more effective.

In the second phase of the simulation exercise, I had to pass medication to Ms. EvaMea Smith. However, working with her was time-consuming. It took me long hours to put a mark on the patient, arrange the medicine, discover the labels, dosage, and precautions, and eventually document everything. The drug issuance process was repetitive e three times a day, making it cumbersome. I spent even longer hours identify the precautions from online sources and merging them with her symptoms before issuing drugs. Conducting laboratory tests and waiting for the results also took a more extended time. The long time consumption harmed the patient who continuously complained of severe pains in the nasal tube. The more extended periods were somehow anticipated since this was my first time using virtual simulation. Notably, it had taken me some time to learn how to use simulation in nursing. It was a result of getting attached to the precious method of face-to-face.

Conclusion

Conclusively, virtual clinical simulation has enlightened my experience as a nurse. I had the chance to realize mistakes that had been making earlier on without consent. Such mistakes included wrong delegation and prioritization. As I identified these wrongs, I discovered that they hurt the patient's recovery journey. I also had the chance to explore more in-depth explanations for nursing case scenarios, unlike before. Therefore, I intend to apply this method in my future nursing practice.