Going into this first Mental Health simulation, I was very nervous, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was mainly worried about not knowing what to say or maybe saying the wrong thing. I made sure to adequately prepare and answer all questions before the simulation, which took some of the nerves away. Even with my preparation, I still felt in the dark about how my encounter with the actors and my fellow classmates would go. I was hoping we would all evenly participate with interviewing the client, and thankfully that went smoothly. I was also pleased with the actors and their performance. All 3 were believable and I felt as though I was actually having an encounter with a real patient.
I was anticipating some difficulty discussing certain topics, such as suicide. I was genuinely pleased with how my group handled the situation and how we all had a part in the conversation. It will never be an easy topic to go over, but we had some good practice and I feel more confident to bring it up in a clinical setting. One challenge that I wasn’t expecting was the start of the interview and easing into it. My group struggled with how to start it off and building rapport before asking the deeper questions. We wanted to have enough time to hit all of the main points, but we also needed to balance that and make our client comfortable opening up to us. I think we improved on this with each patient, and I believe it’ll go even better next time!
Going through 3 varying scenarios and working through the social, biological, psychological, and education points for each was helpful and I feel as though I learned a lot. It’s so different compared to discussing in class or listening to lectures. I enjoy clinical, lab, and simulation because I’m able to apply what I learn in class. Bringing this knowledge forth and applying it has helped me make connections between the disorders and the domains. I now have a better understanding of how interviewing a client may go and the topics discussed in these interactions. I have a better understanding of the mental health nursing process and I feel more confident to utilize these skills in a clinical setting.
