Mental Health Simulation Reflection

The Mental Health Simulation was truly a great experience. I was able to use the information that we have learned in class and apply it to real patient scenarios. Overall, I believe I learned better qualities and traits of working within a care team for a patient. During this simulation our group of students were given time after a patient interaction to discuss what we learned from the patient and what interventions we should include next for the patient based on the previous findings. It was also new for me to experience firsthand what patients are present with for certain mental health disorders. So, I was able to see the manifestations of certain disorders and I was able to use my knowledge to help communicate with the patient. The challenges that I was presented with during this simulation were sometimes at a loss for words. For certain mental health disorders there are times where patients would express their feelings and I had trouble providing a response. The way my group addressed this problem was we each talked about interventions that each one of us can communicate back to the client. What I have learned about the mental health nursing process is that it is very emotional, and it takes time. It takes time talking to the patient and trying to get the most important information from them so the nurse and the provider can make an appropriate diagnosis of the client’s disorder. It is also emotional in a way because the nurse must be therapeutic in the mental health nursing process because with certain disorders it can cause patients to be very sensitive or aggravated. So, it is important to always maintain that therapeutic relationship with the patient throughout the nursing process.