Digital Digest Corner: New Devices Help Skill Development

Ophthosim and OtoSim enable students to practice assessing eyes and ears

The Dr. Susan L. Davis, R.N., & Richard J. Henley College of Nursing has purchased two mobile devices—OpthoSim and OtoSim—for online master of science in nursing/family nurse practitioner (MSN/FNP) students to learn assessment of eyes and ears. Ann Weltin, clinical associate professor in the online MSN/FNP program, recommended the purchase in light of online students’ inability to return to campus in November, near the end of their advanced health assessment course.

Weltin, who has experience using these devices with students at another university, explains their importance: “Health assessment for the nurse practitioner (NP) focuses on advanced use of skills and examination techniques. Students are very familiar with some techniques, as they perform the skill often as registered nurses (for example, listening to heart and lung sounds). Other techniques often are completely new to the NP student. Over years of practice with students, we have seen that some of the most challenging skills for them to learn include ear, eye and genital exams. I can show students videos of how to do a skill, but it takes holding the equipment and practicing over and over to gain competence in doing the exam and applying the findings to make a diagnosis.

“Typically, the residency period is an opportunity for our online FNP students to practice these difficult skills hands-on in the lab. Without this opportunity, we must explore creative ways to help students perfect these new and difficult skills. These are critical for the student to perform as, diagnostically, they yield a considerable amount of information, especially for patients with chronic conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure.”

Danielle Sheridan, MSN/FNP student