The simulation was much less formal than what I was expecting. My expectations were that we would be speaking to these individuals in more of a hospital setting instead of an office setting, but I preferred it that way. I felt like students were given minimal information about the simulation and because of that, I think we went in rather timid. Nonetheless, I enjoyed simulation, I thought it was a realistic depiction of behaviors that we will experience in the clinical setting. In my mind, I had minimized the actions of some of these disorders and didn’t expect some of the grandiosity that was portrayed. I guess my expectations with patient interaction was that the patient allows the nurse to take the authoritative role in the room and with some of these personalities it was quite clear that they controlled the room. To be honest, I was overwhelmed with the portrayal of the manic episode. The pressured speech made it difficult to communicate and by the time I had thought of something to say, the topic had moved onto something else completely. Attempting to re-direct was futile and after the encounter was over I quickly realized how drained I was from trying to communicate and keep up with this personality. In terms of the other personalities, I felt confident in my communication with them. There was a sense of calmness with those other individuals and I was able to articulate my next words with ease. I think my biggest downfall with mania was that I matched the energy of the patient in my own mind and it ultimately made me panic. 

I thought the actors were really wonderful and depicted their illnesses accurately. I thought it to be especially helpful that we didn’t know the actors beforehand as I think our perception of how they truly act would not allow us to experience the full range of emotions that can be expressed in mental disorders.