Clinical can make every awkward moment, wrong answer, or mistake feel huge. But your clinical instructor probably isn’t thinking about it nearly as much as you are. After more than a decade of teaching nursing students, here are the things I wish students knew about what their instructors are really thinking.

Nervous about making a mistake in simulation? After watching thousands of nursing simulations, I can tell you, I've seen it all. From freezing under pressure to unexpected mannequin emergencies, the moments students worry about most are often exactly where the learning happens. Here’s what your simulation instructor really wants you to know.