Introduction of unresponsive patient simulation scenarios into an undergraduate nursing health assessment course.

BACKGROUND: Despite certification in basic life support, nursing students may not be proficient in performing critical assessments and interventions for unresponsive patients. Thus, a new simulation module comprising four unresponsive patient scenarios was introduced into a second-year nursing health assessment course. METHOD: This cross-sectional study describes nursing student experience, knowledge, confidence, and performance of assessments and interventions for the unresponsive patient across 3 years of an undergraduate nursing program. RESULTS: Overall knowledge, confidence, and performance scores were similar between second-, third-, and fourth-year students (N = 239); however, performance times for many critical assessments and interventions were poor. Second-year nursing students' knowledge increased significantly following the new simulation module (p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: Findings suggest a need for more repetition of basic unresponsive patient scenarios to provide mastery. It is anticipated that addition of unresponsive patient scenarios into the second year will enhance performance by the final year of the program.

Evaluating high-fidelity human simulators and standardized patients in an undergraduate nursing health assessment course.

BACKGROUND: An undergraduate nursing health assessment course provided three experiential modalities for practicing health assessment skills: high-fidelity human simulators (HFS), standardized patients (SP) and community volunteers (CV). Previous research has examined the impact of each distinct modality on learning outcomes. However, few studies have compared these learning strategies. This study investigates learners' satisfaction, self-efficacy and performance behaviors among three learning approaches. METHOD: Forty-four undergraduate nursing students were randomly assigned to perform focused respiratory assessments on a HFS, SP or CV. Participants completed the Health Assessment Educational Modality Evaluation (HAEME) survey to assess self-efficacy and modality satisfaction. A performance checklist evaluated assessment skills. RESULTS: Performance behaviors were significantly greater with HFS, but learners were significantly less satisfied with this modality. Significant differences in students' self-efficacy were not found across the three modalities. CONCLUSIONS: Significantly lower satisfaction with HFS may reflect learners' perceived lack of realism. However, HFS may provide a low-stress opportunity for novice learners to practice skills. Results support the integration of distinct experiential learning modalities in an undergraduate nursing health assessment course.