LEARNING OUTCOMES AND CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS OF USING HUMAN-PATIENT SIMULATIONS IN A NURSING CURRICULUM

Similar to many global companies, nursing programs world-wide are incorporating simulation activities into their nursing curricula. The aims of these human-patient simulations are to increase critical thinking, create a safe setting to practice clinical decision-making and psychomotor skills, and positively impact student performance in patient care settings (i.e., clinical areas). Educators have evaluated student responses to simulation activities and have found them to be very well received and desirable to most learners. However, less has been done to measure the learning outcomes of simulation activities, and virtually no research is available regarding the impact simulations have on the actual clinical performance of students. This author will describe two simulation activities using mid-fidelity human-patient simulators with junior and senior- level nursing students in a mid-Western U.S. bachelor’s degree program. The planning, implementation and evaluation of the simulations will be discussed. Learning outcomes of the participants will be presented using exam scores and anecdotal evidence about students’ clinical performance collected from course faculty, student participants and clinical instructors. Implications for further integration of simulations into nursing courses and other university level curricula will be discussed.