Caring for the Mannequin: Social Interactions in Simulation-Based Nursing Education

Abstract

This study examines how operators’ vocal enactments mediate students’ engagement in simulation-based nursing training, where the limited expressiveness of mannequins necessitates operator-managed utterances to sustain the activity as an activity of patient care. Drawing on ethnomethodology and multimodal conversation analysis (EMCA) to analyze video recordings of simulation-based nursing education, the study focuses on interactions between operators and students as mediated by the mannequin. The findings show that operators’ vocal utterances serve multiple functions: supplementing the mannequin’s limited expressiveness, guiding students toward learning objectives, and providing feedback on clinical actions. However, these enactments are not always taken up as intended, as students navigate the tension between the task at hand, the requirement to suspend disbelief and treat it as a human patient, and the artificiality of the mannequin. This continuous negotiation reveals the complexities of simulation-based professional learning, where impression management becomes central to sustaining the instructional and professional relevance of the activity.

Note:
Funding Information: The research was part of the project Professional Education and Simulation-based Training (PROSIM, 2021–2025), funded by Norwegian Research Council, grant number 316212.

Conflict of Interests: The author declares that they have no competing interests.

Ethical Approval: The project received approval from the Norwegian Agency for Shared Services in Education and Research (SIKT), ensuring that it adhered to the ethical guidelines and regulatory frameworks in place in the Norwegian context. Every participant volunteered and provided informed consent by signing an approved consent form, which confirmed their understanding of the study’s objectives, procedures, and any associated risks.

Keywords: Nursing Education, simulation-based training, suspension of disbelief, impression management, ethnomethodology and conversation analysis (EMCA)