When it comes to a profession like nursing, confidence and security are key to quality performance and excellent health care. Obtaining the skills required to become a nurse reaches beyond studying textbooks. At the Faculty of Health Sciences, Dr. Anny María Hernández Cuello has made clinical simulation a crucial part of nursing education in Angola providing students the ability to practice before facing real patients..
Hernández Cuello, a physician trained in Cuba, is currently working to help students in Angola through CLINICALSIM, a project designed to train nurses through realistic nursing scenarios. Implementing this program in Angola has been especially significant considering that traditionally, nursing education has been more focused on theory rather than applicable skills. According to Dr. Hernández Cuello “…many students had their first contact with real-life situations directly in hospitals during their residency, which sometimes led to a lack of familiarity and, of course, insecurity, not only on the part of our students but also on the part of patients, who noticed the lack of practice and experience.” This gap is what led to the creation of the CLINICALSIM’s program.
The program focuses on giving students scenarios they will experience once employed as a registered nurse after graduation. Hernández Cuello explains the benefits of CLINICALSIM saying “Through simulation, students develop crucial skills such as decision making in real life situations, teamwork, communication with patients, and problem solving under pressure,” Situations like these prepare students and increase both their confidence and competence. Besides just improving technical skills, Hernández Cuella aims to have students learn how to become more human healthcare professionals by placing importance on the responsibility involved in caring for people´s lives.
Thanks to CLINICALSIM, students are safe to experience nursing scenarios without risking patients’ health. They’re reaching beyond theory into work they will be performing in their future profession. This type of learning has been more successful.
Dr. Hernández Cuello describes the progress she sees in students, “little by little, through simulation, they gain confidence, security, and clinical judgment. For me, one of the most valuable moments is when students begin to make decisions on their own, communicate better as a team, and face simulated clinical situations with greater confidence.” The results have been noticeable as students transform from timid students to capable and trustworthy nurses.
She also describes what the experience has been like for her and how rewarding the process has been, “ Seeing how they progress… and how they begin to believe in their own abilities truly reaffirms my commitment to what I do and why I love teaching nursing and healthcare in general.”
CLINICALSIM has proven to be an effective and life changing program through the practical skills it offers. By improving nurses abilities, it in turn improves health care in Angola.
