Activities for Nursing Students

Nursing students benefit from simulation and critical thinking activities that promote and enforce key nursing skills such as patient assessment, diagnosis and recall knowledge of treatment options. A variety of collaborative and independent activities allow nursing students to build relationships with potential colleagues while still learning how to be self-sufficient in life or death situations.

Vital Sign Relay

• One of nurses' essential responsibilities is to measure and record accurate vital signs for each patient. One way to practice the accurate measuring of vital signs is with a vital sign relay. Place several volunteers in different parts of the room. Each volunteer represents a patient who must have a vital sign recorded; for instance, the first volunteer needs her blood pressure taken while the second needs his temperature read. Each nursing student takes a turn going to each volunteer, selecting the proper tools and measuring and recording the relevant vital sign. The nursing student who takes the most accurate readings in the fastest time wins the game and a relevant prize, such as a personalized pen and clipboard.

Simulation Activities

• Simulation activities are similar to role playing in that they recreate relevant hypothetical events to practice essential skills. However, unlike role-playing activities, all participants except one play themselves in their natural roles. Practice several simulation activities with nursing students by selecting a volunteer or class leader to serve as a patient, a superior or a family member of a patient in various nursing situations.

  The most effective simulation activities occur when nursing students have no had time to prepare or study. One common simulation game involves a volunteer acting as an elderly or mentally impaired patient with a mystery illness. The nursing student must assess the patient, record relevant information and relay the information to a doctor. Another option is to simulate a disaster scenario in which nurses are responsible for assessing a large influx of patients at one time. Larger simulations require multiple volunteers, preparation and possibly access to a real hospital setting.

Symptom Analysis Activities

• Nurses must be able to assess the severity of an illness or injury so that the patient can receive adequate care from a doctor. Place nursing students into teams of three. Provide each group with several case studies or patient outlines; each group should receive the same outlines. Each outline or case study provides information about the hypothetical patient including age, gender, medical history, symptoms and any relevant information such as odd behavior. Group members brainstorm possible diagnoses and also assign each patient a level of severity that indicates which patients need immediate treatment and which do not. Groups then compare their assessments and discuss disparities between diagnoses or severity assessments.

Improving Care Action Plans

• Nurses are well suited to provide feedback to hospital management regarding best practices and areas for improvement. Nursing students can complete individual research projects that address problems hospitals have and suggest ways to solve them. Action plans are solution-focused research projects that provide tangible feedback and suggestions for improvement. These projects provide nursing students the opportunity to think critically about the medical establishment and proactively address the needs of the medical field. Sample action plan topics include addressing patient intake, improving accuracy in medication administration or reducing the load of paperwork without sacrificing quality care.