I did not have many expectations going into the mental health simulation. I was familiar with the cases, and I have worked with the paid actors before in ISIC, so I suppose I was eager to see how well I could apply therapeutic communication successfully in specific patient cases. I expected the simulation experience to differ from my clinical experiences, but I wasn’t prepared for the unpredictable nature of the hired actors. In my clinical, I never experienced a patient that was aggressive, or had pressured speech, so the mania patient really caught me by surprise. I did not expect the patients to avoid the questions we were asking or resist the process entirely. The mania patient specifically was so acutely manic that he would hardly even acknowledge that we were asking him questions. Additionally, he targeted us personally on our appearances and our clothes, which I wasn’t expecting and felt unprepared for in the moment. On a similar note, the patient in the depression case was very opposed to treatment, and we found it difficult as a group to try to convince him to try a new treatment when countless others had failed. I never got a chance to work with a patient like this at clinical, as most patients either wanted treatment or had a power of attorney making medical decisions for them.
I found it valuable that we got to interact with these clients in an outpatient setting. Prior to simulation, I was more comfortable with inpatient mental health cases. The clients on P6 have concurrent medical problems that can be life-threatening and are far more reliant on healthcare professionals.
I learned about how to interact and converse with patients that are resistant to care and aren’t admitted to a unit. I got to practice my therapeutic communication techniques as well as learn new methods from my colleagues. The experience as a whole was very valuable and memorable.
