Mimic Clinic: An innovative strategy to synthesize didactic skills

Due to the increasingly rapid pace of the clinical setting, increased demands on preceptor time and the adoption of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) by many clinical sites; nurse practitioner (NP) students have fewer opportunities to integrate didactic skills such as prescription writing, understanding laboratory values and using their resources to apply anticipatory guidance and health maintenance knowledge in the clinical setting. The faculty created a weekly; time limited activity to guarantee that each student was evaluated in their ability to utilize these skills.  Initially this time limited activity was implemented in the classroom; then it was transitioned to an online activity with classroom time used to review the essential skills students were expected to use.

This activity has helped students synthesize information from core courses such as pharmacology and child development, as well as didactic and clinical readings. The aim of the activity was to increase student speed in utilizing their clinical resources to increase their efficiency and accuracy in the clinical setting. Since the introduction of this activity, clinical preceptors have been more willing to allow students to practice prescription writing and other skills; knowing that the task can be completed in a timely manner. “Mimic clinics” (mimicking clinical conditions) are billed by the faculty as “a safe place to make mistakes” and have been favorably received by the students over the five years that they have been in place.