April 1, 2015: An ambulance is bringing in four victims of a two-car motor vehicle accident into your Emergency Department. The patients include an elderly female, a middle-aged female, a young, pregnant female, and a 2-year-old child. As the nurse, how will you implement care? What are your priorities?

This collaborative scenario was designed by nursing instructors to be dramatized by associate degree nursing students from various clinical semesters. Concepts from Levels 1, 3, and 4 were chosen so students could  illustrate their talents. Both high-fidelity simulators (Human Animated Lifeforms or “HAL’s”) and basic mannequins were employed to simulate communication with patients and health care providers, heart, lung, and bowel sounds, respiratory patterns, pupillary changes, pulses, injuries and wounds.

Debriefing

A vital component of simulation, debriefing allowed students to reflect on individual and  team performance. It also helped to reinforce concepts and diffuse emotions after a stressful situation.

Students’ Evaluations

Evaluations, anonymously completed by students, were overwhelmingly positive:

• “The learning method offers utilizing our skills, and knowledge on a level that meets ‘real life’ expectations.”
• “I always learn in thees scenes more and more as to what, why and when.  It reinforces what I know and don’t know, which is a lot.”
• “I love how the different levels interact with each other and help you where the information sticks with you.”
• “The variety of patients in the trauma area was interesting, very neat to try to prioritze. Seeing different levels working together is also very neat to see who can do what.”

The event occurred at the BayCare Systems Office in Clearwater. It was attended by the College of Nursing’s dean, Dr. Susan Baker, and the academic chairs. Based on the evaluations by students, more of these multilevel scenarios will be exercised.