Use of Multiple Patient Simulators to Enhance Prioritizing and Delegating Skills for Senior Nursing Students

Abstract

The student clinical experience is rich, yet challenges arise in providing experiences where leadership skills can be developed and used in nursing practice. To increase student confidence and enhance student ability to safely and effectively prioritize, delegate, and implement care for numerous patients, a simulation-based learning (SBL) experience was developed. The SBL experience involves multiple patient simulators, case study analysis, and a debriefing session. Ninety-seven senior nursing students participated in this program. Students reported through Likert surveys to either "agree" or "strongly agree" that the SBL was well organized (87%, n = 84), prompted realistic expectations (59%, n = 57), the scenarios were believable (73%, n = 71), case studies increased understanding (66%, n = 64), and that the SBL experience increased understanding of prioritizing and delegating care (69%, n = 67). Seventy-eight percent (n = 76) reported "more confidence in ability to work as a team" and 55% (n = 52) reported "more confidence in prioritizing and delegating care."

Adding context to a simulation module for leadership and management baccalaureate nursing students

“…Evaluative measures included student surveys and performance during the scenario. When the simulation was completed, students reported more confidence in the ability to prioritize and delegate care for multiple patients [15] .…”

“…Kaplan and Ura developed a multiple client simulation experience to provide students the experience of caring for group of clients and practicing the leadership skills of prioritization and delegation [15] . Students cared for three clients with differing acuities and resulting needs.…”

“…Students' perception of communication with the client and significant others, prioritization, decision making, and clinical judgment also improved after simulated learning experiences [8,[14][15][16] . Improvement in student use of critical thinking skills has also been reported in the literature [17][18][19] .…”

A comparison study on integrating electronic health records into priority simulation in undergraduate nursing education

“…We have been conducting a nursing prioritizing simulation over the last few years without accessing electronic health records. This critical decision on prioritizing is based on available information that helps nurses to know the patient and determining what needs to be done first [1] . With the Federal mandates and electronic health records now readily available in hospital settings, we recognized the need to train nursing students to be comfortable navigating and obtaining pertinent information prior to graduation.…”

Using simulation learning through academic‐practice partnership to promote transition to clinical practice: a qualitative evaluation

“…This patient-focused simulation has recently received statistically significant attention in pre-registration nursing programmes to prepare senior nursing students for learning work organization and management skills (Kaplan & Ura 2010, Warland 2011, Smith 2013, Sharpnack et al 2013. By replicating a ward environment that reflects the complexity of real ward practices, the simulation can help nursing students to develop a wide range of clinical skills including teamwork, work organization, decision-making and prioritising (Reed et al 2009, Kaplan & Ura 2010, McGrath et al 2012. However, the evidence supporting the learning outcomes of such simulations has been generated by short rather than long-term studies.…”