Skills Lab vs. SIM Lab (LPN)

00:01 Let's talk lab.

00:03 This is the part of school where you get to do some hands on clinical skills.

00:08 The great thing about learning in the lab is you can't harm your client.

00:13 Because usually it's a mannequin or some other type of equipment that you use to practice with.

00:18 When you're learning how to insert an IV, or put in a Foley catheter, or any of the other skills you'll need to know as a nurse.

00:27 As faculty, I've even used hot dogs to have my students practice their intradermal injections, and oranges for the intramuscular injections in the lab.

00:37 Yes, hotdogs and oranges.

00:39 Sometimes as faculty, we got to get creative.

00:43 This section of the course discusses some of the tips for you to get the most at your lab experiences.

00:50 I'll show you what to expect and how to be successful as a student.

00:55 Now, Skills Lab and Simulation Lab are the best places for you to learn, and practice your skills and critical thinking without having any harm to a real life patient.

01:08 And this is great for you as a student.

01:11 First time you learn a skill, you really don't want it to be on a real life patient.

01:16 So first, what a skills lab? I personally love it.

01:21 Skills Lab breaks up that monotony of sitting in the classroom and listening to your teacher talk on and on for a long time.

01:29 Skills Lab is not what it sounds like.

01:31 We're not talking about chem lab here.

01:34 We are talking about a room with hospital beds, equipments, and mannequins sometimes where you can practice nursing skills.

01:43 In the lab, you'll get to practice things such as putting in an IV in a dummy mannequin arm.

01:49 Foley catheters.

01:51 Don't worry, we're not going to ask you to do this on your partner.

01:55 But medication passes in the lab, helping obey the patient, and the list goes on.

02:02 In the lab, you're gonna get to practice technique, safety, and kinesthetic hands on practice.

02:09 And that is really fun.

02:11 The lab is a place where you can put into action, all those things you've learned, and really get familiar with practical skills that you're going to use as a nurse.

02:22 With a skills lab, you'll usually see a demo from the faculty, and then the faculty is going to give you all the equipment you need to complete the skills.

02:32 If we're to practice giving im injections for example, I'm going to give you in appropriate size needle, syringe, the demonstration medication, and the place for injection.

02:44 That can be a demo injection pad, or if your faculty are really resourceful in orange, for example.

02:51 Yes, you might inject a piece of fruit.

02:56 You will then get to use that equipment, practice with it, and get familiar with it.

03:01 And then practice that actual skill, and not on a live patient in the hospital.

03:07 Which is helpful, right? And usually by the in the lab, you have a good idea on how to perform that skill safely.

03:15 However, you will need more practice in order to master the skill.

03:21 You usually aren't able to take home equipment, so you got to get creative, and you can practice skills on a stuffed animal or a friend, or a partner.

03:32 Also, you can check out my video series on Fundamental Clinical Skills.

03:37 I would love to be your personal clinical skills tutor.

03:42 I sincerely love skills lab as a student, and I want to help you love it too.

03:50 Simulation Lab. This is a whole different thing.

03:53 This is my true love.

03:56 Yes, I said I love skills lab.

03:59 But this really is where the magic can happen.

04:03 So what is it? Simulation is a real life scenario that your faculty designs, and this is going to help create an environment for you to make mistakes as a student.

04:15 Yes, I said make mistakes. You heard me right, I repeat, make mistakes.

04:22 Now simulation usually is going to take place in a designated area at your school.

04:27 Maybe this is a fake hospital room, or lab, or something like that.

04:33 Now during simulation as your faculty, we create real life patient scenarios, like someone having a heart attack or a stroke.

04:42 And how the students carry out roles like the nurse, the charge nurse, and you're gonna work with the team, and try to figure out what's wrong with the patient.

04:53 Students perform nursing intervention and evaluate the outcome of those interventions.

04:59 Luckily, you are never alone in simulation.

05:02 There are usually multiple roles and you guys work together to treat the patient.

05:07 As I like to say nursing is a team sport.

05:10 Simulations many times use mannequins as the patient.

05:15 These mannequins can breathe.

05:17 They've got heart sounds, lung sounds as if they're a real patient.

05:22 And honestly, some of those mannequins are little odd looking and a little too realistic.

05:29 So, something you don't want to do is be trapped in a dark room alone with them if you get me.

05:36 Now, this fake patient mannequin does help.

05:39 And why you ask? Well, you're not going to hurt a mannequin.

05:44 You're not practicing on a live human.

05:47 So, if you give the injection in the wrong spot, you give too much medication, no real harm will come to it's fake plastic body.

05:57 And it's usually made of some sort of rubber or computer parts, and so forth. So perfect for practice.

06:04 It's so much better to practice your actual skills, like inserting IVs and performing assessments, providing patient teaching, administering oxygen, and evaluating the patient's condition and simulation.

06:19 We can use lots of different methods.

06:21 But again, you get to practice in a clinical patient scenario as if you're the nurse.

06:28 You're going to assess and decide how you want to intervene, and use critical thinking, which is our whole goal as faculty in a safe environment where you can't harm a patient.

06:41 Oh, I almost forgot.

06:44 Now standard surrounding simulation state that it's not used as a punitive environment or a punitive assessment tool, but it's a safe place to make mistakes.

06:57 So as a student, as long as you follow your assignments instructions, show up on time and participate, you're usually in good shape.

07:06 Don't quote me on that though, because simulation may be used in lots of different ways by faculty.

07:13 Simulation gives you the opportunity to practice working with a team, communicating with others, using critical thinking skills and so much more.

07:24 So you see, my favorite.