The time has come , my class has begun practicum and we’re finally getting to put all our new skills and knowledge to the test. The last class we had before we started our practicum was “Clinical Simulation “. During this class we got to use the SIMS dolls and our instructors ran us through various scenarios that we may encounter in the field.
The SIMS dolls are so neat ! They are simulation dolls that are controlled by the instructor – they can make it do whatever they choose. They can make it yell in pain, cough, talk , breathe. In class we were split into 2 groups and given different scenarios that we needed to go through as a group. We each hand roles to play and we had to work as a team to provide the best care to our “patient”. During the scenarios we had to take the dolls vital signs (respirations , pulse and blood pressure) You could even hear the heart beat and were actually able to take their blood pressure. While doing all this the teacher is able to look at her tablet to make sure the vital signs we are taking are correct.
There’s no way to cheat with these dolls , the instructor can see everything on her end that we are doing and hearing. Every once in a while if we were making a mistake or not doing something right the instructor would make our doll scream at the top of their lungs until we figured out and fixed what was wrong. I found that this was a very good experience because we were getting a different look at things , before we were just doing things on our partners and instructor.
This time we had our instructor there acting out the role with the doll. During this class we all had a chance to work together and problem solve as a team , it was a opportunity to pick each other’s brain and see a different way of thinking. Of course this is not the same as working with a real resident but it was a really good experience and our instructors definitely did not go easy on us , they pushed to our limits and even a bit further , I was happy they did that though because when you are working in the field there will be time where you are being pushed and may be struggling but you will need to be able to think critically and on your feet. We only had one class with the SIMS Dolls but I wish we would have gotten more , they were so interesting !
