Having the opportunity to view my peers talking with patients who have mental health disorders helped me to better understand the best way to communicate. Communication is very important however using therapeutic communication is one of the most important interventions a health care provider can do, especially with patients who have mental health disorders. Therapeutic communication allows the nurse or nursing students to develop rapport with the patient which in turn helps in developing a trusting nurse-patient relationship. More specifically the video one of the students stated “I can understand that must be very difficult for you” or “those thoughts must be very scary” which demonstrates acceptance and the student’s willingness to listen to what the patient has to say but also making the patient feel heard and understood. The students also used open-ended questions such as “can you tell me more about this?” or “tell me more about how this makes you feel.” By asking open-ended questions, this shows interest in what the patient is saying and it also allows for more conversation to happen instead of one word answers.

Although I was unable to experience this simulation in person, I am still grateful I was able to watch it virtually, because I did learn a lot about what therapeutic communication entails from watching my peers.