Learning Activities in the Skills Laboratory

DQ1 Learning Activities in the Skills Laboratory

A novice nurse educator is assigned to develop and implement learning activities in the skills laboratory. She expresses her disappointment to her mentor because she was looking forward to presenting in the classroom. The novice educator comments, “What can happen in the skills lab except making beds?”

As the mentor to this novice nurse educator, how would you respond? Can learning occur in the skills laboratory? What actions can an educator take to foster the transfer of learning from a laboratory with mannequins to “real-life” direct patient care?

DQ2 Collaboration Café

While studies have shown that simulation with high-fidelity mannequins can replace clinical experience, resistance to this is still present. Consider your future practice setting—staff development versus academic—how can you use simulation to foster clinical decision making in your learners? What type of scenario would you build?