A Strategy for Role Assignment in Simulation Using Collaborative Cognition.

The purpose of this article is to present an innovative education strategy for role assignment in simulation that encourages collaboration and prioritization, while highlighting critical thinking. BACKGROUND: Traditional methods of role assignment in simulation distribute nursing duties among multiple participants, assigning students as a primary or a secondary nurse or dictating specific tasks such as medication administration, assessment, or documentation. This allows students to divide and conquer, rather than prioritize and delegate. METHOD: In the Two-Heads-Are-Better-Than-One strategy, two students assume the role of one nurse and are instructed to move and act as if they are one person. RESULTS: The Two-Heads-Are-Better-Than-One strategy requires the two students functioning as one nurse to collaborate, discuss differences of opinion, and formulate a plan of care for the simulated patient. CONCLUSION: This innovative approach to role assignment in simulation provides clinical faculty with a unique perspective for assessing critical thinking and clinical reasoning. [J Nurs Educ. 2018;57(11):694-697.].

Expanding Capacity With an Accelerated On-Line BSN Program.

Colleges of nursing are challenged to identify innovative, efficient, and effective mechanisms to expand enrollment in prelicensure programs. This objective of this project was to identify whether a prelicensure nursing program that is both accelerated and on-line is as effective as a traditional face-to-face program, in terms of graduation rates and National Council Licensure Exam pass rates. METHOD: This analysis of 1,064 students compared demographic and outcomes data between students in a state university's college of nursing who were enrolled in an accelerated, fully on-line bachelors of science in nursing (BSN) program and the traditional on-campus BSN program. RESULTS: Students significantly differed in their ethnicity, level of prior education, and graduation rates (95% vs. 89.3%). First-time National Council Licensure Exam pass rates for both groups did not significantly differ (92.5% vs. 94.5%). CONCLUSION: Results indicate that an accelerated on-line BSN program can overcome factors known to limit capacity expansion in schools of nursing and produce high-quality student outcomes.