Prior to my first mental health simulation I was extremely nervous because I was not sure what to expect and had not had much experience interacting with people regarding their mental illness. During my first mental health simulation I was nervous but after the first interaction with the patient I became more comfortable and realized that I had all the information and knowledge needed to gather the information from the patient. After that realization, the conversation flowed easier, and I was not as nervous and was able to organize my thoughts better. I learned that establishing trust and rapport with the patient is important before asking tough questions and pushing them a bit because if you don’t sometimes it can cause them to become guarded and not want to open up to you.
In my first simulation session one of the patients pulled out an alcoholic nip and started to drink it in front of us and we had to address the situation and tell her that it was not acceptable and to please put it away. A patient from my second simulation session was being extremely aggressive and rude toward the person who brought them to get labs done during our huddle and when they entered back into the room, she was yelling at him, and my group members and I addressed the situation and told her that it was not acceptable to treat somebody that way. The patient was receptive to the situation and had fixed their behavior towards others. I found it difficult to interact with someone who was being rude and disrespecting others because it made me intimidated and guarded at first but then I realized I needed to put my own personal feelings aside to help the patient. I also found that having one of the patient’s occupations being a nurse practitioner made it hard to educate them and help them because I felt as though they had more knowledge than I did, and it felt wrong to tell them that they had a drinking problem. However, I know it was important to educate them due to the fact that they didn’t see their drinking as a problem, and they were here as a patient and not a colleague.
The mental health nursing process is not what I had expected however it is extremely helpful and helps gather all the information needed. Safety is always a top concern for each patient and may questions asked help identify the safety of the patient. Using the nursing process in simulation also helps my confidence in using it in clinical on patients and for future use in my career. Once I had become more comfortable with the mental health nursing process it helped increase my confidence using it, gathering information from the patient, and formulating the plan of care for the patient. I learned that gathering information from each domain is important to seeing each aspect of the patient and their illness as a whole. Simulation has prepared me to take what I have learned and apply it to patients in the clinical setting. It has increased my confidence which will allow me to be better prepared to care for a patient and provide the best care possible. Overall, simulation has taught me more than I could have imagined and has prepared me to better care for patients in the clinical setting.
