Letter to the Editor

Abstract

Strategies to Promote a Continuous Learning Environment, 1 I believe that interactive gaming to educate our staff can really help our nursing staff learn. As a nurse leader, I am always looking for new ways to learn or help others learn, without boring them to death. With so many new regulations, policies, and new technologies, it is often hard to keep the nursing staff up-to-date. If this process helps the nurses retain and stay engaged in learning, then all hospitals need to take this learning tool into consideration. I don't know how many times I have seen nurses almost fall asleep in an in-service; so anything to keep them stimulated and actually learning, I am ready to try.Problem-based learning is centered around real-life scenarios, and students are active participants in the learning process. Fuzard's teaching strategies suggest that older, more mature adults learn better in a problem-based environment, but this teaching style might not be effective for younger, less experienced students. 2 This really surprised me because the new generations of nurses have grown up with computers and video games all their lives, yet they might not have the clinical expertise to make decisions without first having been lectured on the topics. Older nurses have the clinical expertise to look at a real-life situation and act from experience, but novice nurses are reacting only on the basis of textbooks.In nursing school, many of us used the SIM (simulation) man to learn different nursing scenarios; and I always seemed to get more out of those simulations then reading the book. Duke University recently started using a 3DiTeam training program to train medical teams and to foster team work. 3 Both the SIM man and 3DiTeam training program are programs that simulate a situation that a staff member would see in the hospital environment. The team then responds, and the team sees the consequences of their action on the mannequin. This is in essence getting on-the-job training, without a real patient actually suffering. Jeffery Taekman stated that "Effective coordination is critical for the safe delivery of healthcare. Development of these skills requires training and practice in an interactive team based environment." 4 As nursing leaders, I don't think we should use this type of learning on new graduates before they are oriented to our area. Most of the novice nurses have been through an orientation and have some clinical experience. Therefore, I believe that this learning style will benefit the novice nurses, as well as the older nurses. If we need to stimulate our staff more to educate them and provide a better quality of care for our patients, then I say, "Game on!"