Pilot Study to Determine the Effectiveness of a Home Health Nursing Simulation

Demand for home care has increased due to the expansion of preventive care, people living longer with chronic conditions, and the need for healthcare services as the baby boom population ages. Nurses must be prepared to meet the needs of patients and families in the home setting. Home care nursing simulations have been utilized as a teaching-learning strategy in baccalaureate nursing education, yet less is known about their use with practicing home care nurses and associate degree nursing students. The purpose of this pilot study using simulation was to prepare practicing nurses and student nurses to respond using nursing skills and clinical judgment. The convenience sample consisted of associate degree nursing students (n = 9), practicing home healthcare nurses (n = 8), and nursing faculty (n = 2). The Simulation Effectiveness Tool - Modified (SET-M) Survey (Leighton et al., 2015) was utilized for data collection. Participants perceived the home healthcare simulation to be an effective practice experience with high overall agreement for Pre-briefing, Scenario-Confidence, Scenario-Learning, and Debriefing. The findings of this study provide data to support partnerships to provide home care simulation experiences for associate degree nursing students and practicing home care nurses.

The impact of incorporating a simulation program into the undergraduate nursing curricula: A cross-sectional descriptive study

AIM

To determine the degree of satisfaction for each academic year and according to the type of simulation performed (simulated patient actor/advanced simulator) among nursing students after the use of clinical simulation.

INTRODUCTION

Clinical simulation is currently being incorporated in a cross-cutting manner throughout undergraduate nursing education. Its implementation requires a novel curricular design and educational changes throughout the academic subjects.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional descriptive study was performed.

METHODS

During the academic years 2018-2019 and 2019-2020, 425 students completed the High-Fidelity Simulation Satisfaction Reduced Scale for Students based on 25 questions and six factors, with a total score between 0 and 125. In total, 91 simulation sessions were performed among students who had different degrees of clinical and previous experience with simulation as well as standardized patient versus advanced simulator. A bivariate analysis was performed, comparing the total scores and the different subscales by sex, previous experience, academic year, and simulation methodology. Linear regression was used for both bivariate and multivariate analysis.

RESULTS

The mean scale score was 116.8 (SD=7.44). The factor with the highest score was "F2: feedback or subsequent reflection", with a mean score of 14.71 (SD=0.73) out of 15. Fourth year students scored the highest (mean=119.17; SD=5.28). Students who underwent simulation training with a simulated patient actor presented a higher level of overall satisfaction (p<0.05) (Mean=120.31; SD=4.91), compared to students who used an advanced simulator (Mean=118.11; SD=5.75).

CONCLUSIONS

Satisfaction with the simulation program was higher in fourth-year students compared to first-year students and was also higher when a simulated patient actor was used compared to an advanced simulator. The most highly valued aspect was the subsequent debriefing or reflective process.

Students and teachers' satisfaction and perspectives on high-fidelity simulation for learning fundamental nursing procedures: A mixed-method study

BACKGROUND

High-fidelity clinical simulation enables skills to be acquired safely and securely by bridging the gap between theory and clinical practice. This method has traditionally been used to address complex clinical scenarios. Students often report high levels of satisfaction and self-confidence, as this method allows them to put techniques and procedures into practice in a safe environment. Most studies assess simulation solely from the students' perspective, disregarding the opinions of teaching staff.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the implementation of high-fidelity simulation as a teaching tool for fundamental nursing procedures from the perspectives of students and teachers.

DESIGN

A two-phase mixed-methods study.

SETTING

A simulation centre environment at the University of the Balearic Islands (Spain) during the 2018 academic year.

PARTICIPANTS

Second-year nursing students and staff teaching practical classes on basic patient assessment and monitoring of vital signs.

METHODS

Satisfaction with clinical experience simulation scale, including an open-ended question for students, was used. A focus group session was also held with teachers.

RESULTS

A total of 91 students completed the scale, yielding an overall satisfaction score of 9.3 out of 10. The practical dimension attained the highest scores. Motivation to attend class was the lowest-rated aspect of this dimension, although students' expectations and satisfaction increased during the class. In the open-ended question and the debriefing session, students described the simulation as a playful learning method allowing them to put their theoretical knowledge into practice and helping them to manage their fears before coming into contact with real care settings. In the focus group session, teachers analysed their own experiences and described how they perceived students' satisfaction and practical skills.

CONCLUSIONS

High-fidelity simulation produces good academic outcomes and is highly satisfying for students and teachers.

A review of clinical reasoning in nursing education: based on high-fidelity simulation teaching method

Objective

Clinical reasoning is an essential feature of health care practice; it is also a crucial ability for providing patient care of high quality. It has been identified that graduate nurses may lack the clinical reasoning skills to deliver safe and effective patient care. It is therefore of paramount importance to enhance nursing students' clinical reasoning ability. High-fidelity simulation (HFS) is proved to be an effective teaching and learning method, which may also have some advantages over other teaching methods.

Methods

The authors retrospectively reviewed the related literature, illustrated the application of high-fidelity simulation teaching method in nursing education, putting the focus on the use of it in teaching with clinical reasoning.

Results

The application of high-fidelity simulation to nursing education can simulate the clinical situation, thus to create a safe, continuous and efficient learning environment for students, and it can effectively improve students' clinical reasoning ability.

Conclusions

high-fidelity simulation is effective for clinical reasoning teaching in nursing education. The extension of its application in China should be of great value. The relevant further study is suggested focusing on how to overcome its own limitations and have it better applied in nursing education in China.

Making high-fidelity simulation relevant to the home setting

The integration of high-fidelity simulation can prepare nurses to respond to realistic patient situations and be ready for their roles as professional nurses. A learning framework such as Understanding by Design can be used to develop simulations that are cohesive with course and program outcomes. The authors discuss their use of this framework to develop a simulation in a community health course.