Abstract:

Background:
The Nursing and midwifery council (NMC) recognise that simulation and technologies offer diverse approaches to learning and teaching allowing virtual reality immersion experiences for more well-rounded education. A unique placement experience was developed for second year child pre-registration nursing students comprising of a 4-week clinical placement and 4-week simulated placement learning (SPL). The purpose was to have an indepth understanding of the patient journey and the multidisciplinary team (MDT) involvement enhancing student experience, digital skills, retention and progression.

Method:
The NMC future nurse proficiencies which were difficult to achieve in the child placements were chosen for simulation to ensure it enhance the student’s progression and employment prospects. The learning canvas platform was created using some of the latest interactive technologies. The content was organised in a way that the students were following the patient journey. Each day followed a theme mapped with relevant proficiencies allowing opportunities for effective communication, co-ordination and team working. To ensure MDT involvement, experts from various fields and service users were invited to participate. During the weeks of SPL, students attended four days online from Monday to Thursday and then on campus for Friday to practice the skills which were relevant to the patient scenarios. The placement ensured NMC standards of supervision and assessment. Students were presented with decision-making trees, in which they had to decide interventions and approaches in relation to different scenarios.

Results:
The scenarios and activities tested the student knowledge and understanding in a safe zone. Student feedback highlighted that the SPL greatly helped to interact with the group and build their confidence along with opportunities to explore complex aspects of assessment and care delivery involving deteriorating children. Peer learning enabled students to share and critically reflect their learning experiences with others. Whilst students indicated they would have liked more days in the clinical placement, they agreed the different placement experiences had a positive impact on their learning and would improve their future practice.

Conclusion:
By providing simulated practice learning, students can engage in immersive, interactive and experiential learning where they can hone their skills in a safe and supportive environment. This environment allows a student to repeat, gain feedback, evaluate and reflect on their practice, preparing them to deliver the safe, effective and kind nursing care expected of registered professionals.

Keywords:

Simulation, Peer Learning, Technology, Education, Nursing.