Nursing simulation labs are an experiential learning component that complements nursing coursework. In sim lab nursing, you will work through life-like patient care scenarios with high-fidelity medical manikins. These labs teach clinical judgment and decision-making skills, allowing you to practice your nursing skills without risk.
If you’re not satisfied with your current career choice, you might be thinking about returning to school. Nursing can be a highly meaningful career that also offers strong earning potential and job growth. With Felician University, you can obtain the nursing degree required to become a licensed registered nurse sooner than you might think.
Our On-Ground Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program and our Hybrid ABSN program both leverage your prior college education to allow you to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) in far less time than traditional programs.
No matter which nursing program you choose, you’ll work through a combination of coursework and experiential learning components, including nursing simulation labs. Explore nursing simulation labs here and learn what you can expect as a nursing student.
What Is a Simulation Lab in Nursing?
Registered nurses (RNs) must apply their nursing knowledge to real-world situations. For example, as an RN, you will need to know how to recognize the signs of diabetic ketoacidosis and determine the most appropriate clinical response, given the patient’s medical history and comorbidities. Simulation laboratory nursing can help nursing students learn to apply their skills to actual patient care scenarios.
During a sim lab, you are immersed in a lifelike hospital setting and presented with a simulated patient care scenario. Using your observation and patient assessment skills, you must identify what’s happening and determine how best to manage it.
Is a Sim Lab the Same as a Skills Lab?
There are actually two different types of nursing labs in most ABSN programs. Nursing skills labs and simulation labs are not the same, although both allow you to develop nursing skills. Nursing skills labs do not involve complex patient care scenarios. Instead, students focus on developing foundational nursing skills, such as taking vital signs, placing IV lines, drawing blood and even interviewing patients.
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The Benefits of Simulation Laboratory Nursing
Why do nursing schools use nursing simulation labs? These hands-on learning components complement coursework and instruction, showing how your theoretical nursing knowledge can be applied to actual situations. The benefits of a robust nursing sim lab program include:
- A safe space to practice nursing skills without risking harm to an actual patient
- Hands-on experience working through a variety of clinical situations
- Improvement of clinical skills
- Enhancement of decision-making and problem-solving skills
- Confidence-building activities to prepare future nurses for real-world practice
- Improvement of collaboration and teamwork skills
Nursing Sim Lab Technologies
Nursing simulation labs at ABSN programs typically offer high-tech equipment for students to work with. At Felician University, we provide the latest cutting-edge technology so that our students can be as prepared as possible for actual clinical environments.
Some of the technologies you can expect include:
High-Fidelity Medical Manikins
Medical manikins aren’t like the mannequins you see modeling clothes in storefronts. These are high-tech devices that mimic the anatomy and physiology of real male and female patients.
High-fidelity medical manikins produce heart and breathing sounds. They can bleed, sweat, cry, talk and respond to medications and treatments. You can take their pulse and check their blood pressure. The instructor programs the manikin to simulate a variety of medical issues, from drug overdoses to heart attacks and more.
Virtual Reality (VR) Technology
VR technology might not be as common in ABSN programs as high-fidelity manikins, but we’re proud to invest in it here at Felician University. Here, VR tech provides a fully immersive experience that allows for practice interacting with virtual patients, developing appropriate clinical responses and even performing medical treatments, all without the risk of harm to a real patient.
In a VR setting, the virtual patient and the scenario respond to the nursing student’s interventions in a way that mimics real life. This allows students to enhance their clinical judgment and build confidence for their future careers.
Read more to learn how VR in nursing education supports ABSN students.
What to Expect in Simulation Labs
You might feel a little nervous when approaching your first sim lab nursing experience. This is perfectly normal! Try to take some calming breaths and relax. Here’s what to expect:
Pre-Briefing
Your team participates in a pre-briefing before each patient care scenario. During the pre-briefing, you will review the patient’s medical history and other background information. You might also be informed of your evaluation criteria. Take notes as needed and pay close attention.
Simulation
The second phase is the actual nursing simulation. Your group will enter the room, which will look like a hospital. You will perform a patient assessment on the manikin, which can involve taking its blood pressure and examining its pupils. The patient’s condition will deteriorate, sometimes alarmingly so. You and your teammates will need to follow the nursing process to identify what’s going wrong and determine how to help the patient survive.
Debriefing Session
After the patient care scenario, your lab group will have a debriefing session with your instructor, who will review what went right and what went wrong. It is important to pay close attention and take notes during the debriefing so you can learn how to help your future patients.
You will also complete clinicals along with sim labs. Here’s what every student should know about nursing clinicals.
How to Succeed in Nursing Sim Labs
Nursing simulation labs are supposed to be a learning experience in which students are expected to make mistakes. So, success may look different in simulation labs. Learning from both your mistakes and those of others helps you become a competent, practice-ready nurse.
In addition to cultivating the right mindset for success, consider these tips:
- Review your protocols and checklists before each lab.
- Remind yourself of the nursing process.
- When the “patient” starts crashing, let your lab mates know what you’re going to do and clearly and calmly provide the rationale for it.
- Always treat your “patient” as if it were a real person. Talk to them, comfort them and provide care just as if they were real. And don’t forget to greet it and introduce yourself upon walking into the room.
- Take careful notes during the debriefing session. Pay particular attention to mistakes made and review your notes thoroughly later.
Felician University’s Approach to Sim Labs
Felician University has established a comprehensive nursing education curriculum for all our ABSN students that emphasizes experiential learning in nursing skills and simulation labs. Our sim lab nursing experiences effectively prepare our students to tackle real-world patient care scenarios by covering a variety of patient populations, medical conditions and comorbidities.
In our cutting-edge Nursing Resource and Simulation Center, you will work on high-tech medical manikins that can demonstrate everything from an allergic reaction to speech. You’ll work through these lifelike scenarios in a setting that looks just like a real hospital.
Ready to Begin Your Nursing Education?
Nursing simulation labs help prepare you to competently provide patient care. At Felician University, our ABSN programs emphasize the value of hands-on experiential learning opportunities. Here, you’ll use high-tech sim lab equipment as you work on refining your skills as part of your comprehensive nursing education.
The simulation and skills labs work in tandem with our nursing coursework to establish fundamental nursing concepts, preparing students to provide direct patient care during clinical rotations. The ABSN program is designed to prepare students for the future of healthcare and is further supported by our faculty and staff who are dedicated to educating the next generation of nurses.
You can earn your BSN in as few as 16 months through our hybrid and on-ground programs. Contact our admissions counselors today to get started. Your counselor will walk you through the application process step by step.