Despite the technological advances in simulation with high-fidelity manikins, moulage, and virtual reality, there continues to be a lack of realism during simulation that allows students to navigate specific scenarios appropriately. Faculty implemented an innovative teaching strategy with third-semester nursing students using QR codes during postpartum simulation to accurately depict OB-specific assessment findings. Faculty observations during the simulation and student feedback received during debriefing revealed that the inclusion of authentic assessment photos enhanced students' clinical judgment when identifying the priority interventions for their patients. QR codes can be used in simulation to provide life-like assessment findings at a low cost to departments and allow students to build on clinical judgment and critical thinking skills.
Healthcare teams need cognitive skills and social skills in acute care and routine situations. This article describes the use of storytelling and the re-enactment of a real-life event to teach such skills.
We describe the preparation, conduct, and debriefing of the simulation.
In our conducts of the simulation most participants found it valuable, but we also saw a low number of participants, who did not engage a lot in simulation.
This concept and the principle of combining story-telling with re-enactment can provide valuable learning opportunities for different target groups in healthcare settings.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration-Task Load Index (NASATLX) is a subjective instrument for measuring cognitive load. Originally designed for aviation, it has proven a valid and reliable instrument across disciplines. Despite extensive use, its ability to measure cognitive load in group and individual nursing simulation has yet to be explored.
This secondary analysis investigates NASA-TLX psychometric properties among 488 surveys completed by learners from a Bachelor's nursing program during individual and group simulation. Psychometric tests included item analysis, Cronbach's alpha, inter-item correlations, and exploratory factor analysis.
NASA-TLX demonstrated acceptable reliability and validity in individual simulation; however, there was less reliability in group simulations.
Administration variances across individual and group simulation impact NASATLX validity and reliability.
Simulation activities allow students to engage in interprofessional learning in safe, low-risk environments conducive to learning. This enables students to make connections between different health professionals outside of the clinical setting to help improve their practical patient centered care.
Third year nursing and second year medical radiation sciences students.
Participants were invited to take part in an interprofessional simulation activity. Participants could then choose to complete an online survey after the practical simulation activity.
Survey results showed that most participants found the simulation IPL activity to be useful.
Simulation education can be implemented to raise awareness of the roles of nursing and medical radiation science student practitioners by other student practitioners. There is scope to incorporate interprofessional simulation activities in future curriculum educational design to aid student interprofessional awareness, communication and collaboration.
Traditional nursing education often lacks interprofessional collaboration across different levels of education. The Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) provides competencies to foster such collaboration. Updates by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) emphasize interprofessional partnerships and population health.
This mixed-methods study involved senior nursing students in a simulated mass casualty incident (MCI) with paramedic students and standardized patients. Pre- and post-surveys measured students' perceptions and preparedness, supplemented by qualitative data from open-ended survey questions. The simulation included Sort, Assess, Life-saving interventions, Treatment triage training and a structured debriefing session.
A total of 35 (62.5%) students completed surveys. Post-simulation, significant improvements were observed in perceived preparedness (p = .00) and team engagement (p = .02). Qualitative analysis identified four themes: Art of nursing, Lived experience of a nurse, Teamwork, and Triage, highlighting enhanced communication and teamwork skills.
The simulated MCI effectively improved students' preparedness and interprofessional collaboration skills, though leadership and critical thinking, showed nonsignificant statistical changes. Future simulations should address design limitations to better reflect real-world dynamics and enhance interprofessional interactions.