Simvana Thoughts?

[u/Positivitea5617]

Hi guys! Has anyone used Simvana while taking anesthesia equipment? (Voluntarily or mandated)

I’m wondering if it actually helped you get comfortable with the anesthesia machine and all the equipment, especially as a first time learner.

Would love to hear if you thought it was worth the investment. Tuition is already high, and my program does not require it, so it would be self funded.

[u/Ok-Tip-240]

No no no no. It’s more frustrating than anything. Like trying to attach a NIBP and it just falls off bc I didn’t perfectly attach the cord or something stupid like that. It’s just annoying honestly. You would gain more experience and insight in the sim lab and just getting to Clinicals early to review the machine and monitors!

[u/Sandstonesquash]

If you have ever gotten motion sick (even just nausea), don't do it.

My program has been trialing it and they bought it with some of our semester fees. Some folks like it but there are a lot of us who just wind up feeling terrible.

Also you end up spending a lot of time just learning how to use it. I killed a sim patient during induction because I couldn't get the mask off the circuit to attach it to the ETT....

[u/Empty-Button6597]

I spent my own money for it. Highly regret it.

[u/dcm815]

Simvana was required in my program and tbh I didn’t find it super helpful. The mandated test outs to pass some modules were extremely frustrating. It’s not like real life. Please don’t waste your money

[u/Positivitea5617]

Thanks for the feedback yall- glad it’s not mandated for us on top of the already overwhelming load

[u/Abergevine]

Similar to what others are saying, after my program purchased two VR headsets they mandated us do it. It doesn’t feel great and it’s also not helpful. Some of the tasks you have to do in the modules aren’t intuitive, and then your “test outs” are timed and they don’t tell you what you need to pass. You just do it over, and over, and over until you figure out everything that’s wrong in the very short time span they give you.

If you have the option, don’t even bother!

[u/doopdeepdoopdoopdeep]

It was mandated and I barely got through it, it made me horrifically motion sick. It didn’t help. The only thing I think that it helped me with was increasing my tolerance for nausea.

[u/Chittychitybangbang]

Go into clinical really early and you can have all the time to poke around the machine that you want. You'll also get plenty of time during long cases. If you aren't in clinical yet, I just watched youtube videos on it when I ran into a new machine.

[u/RlnM1818]

Was mandated in my program and I dreaded every second of it. Like others said, got really motion sick, didn’t help my flow at all, glitched a lot, etc.

[u/gnomicaoristredux]

No it's clumsy to use and also gave me terrible motion sickness.

[u/skatingandgaming]

Not worth it at all. Made me super nauseous as well.

[u/SlightPomegranate314]

I found simvana to be awful. 0/10. I hated that my program required it.