Impact of palliative care simulation on nursing students' learning outcomes and reported use in hospital placement.

AIM: Nursing students report emotional distress and feelings of inadequacy to the complexity of palliative care. This study aimed to examine nursing students' attainment of learning outcomes in palliative care through simulation and hospital placement. DESIGN: A longitudinal, intervention study. METHODS: Fifty-five second-year bachelor nursing students participated. Three waves of assessments were performed: (1) pretest; (2) postsimulation test and (3) postplacement test after the completion of the placement. Non-parametric Wilcoxon's signed-rank test for paired samples was used to test for differences between assessments of knowledge, skills and competence before and after simulation, and between postsimulation and post hospital placement. RESULTS: The results showed positive differences between pre- and postsimulation, indicating that learning outcomes were attained through simulation. However, negative differences between the postplacement test and postsimulation test scores indicated that the participants had practiced learning outcome from the simulation to a small degree during placement.

From Palliative Care Developed During Simulation, to Performance in Clinical Practice-Descriptions From Nursing Students.

It is an international consensus that health care workers should be well trained to promote care for seriously ill and dying patients. Nursing students have reported that they feel inadequately prepared for palliative care. Simulation exercises have been described as increasing knowledge, skills, and competence, and participants have reported that they are more confident and prepared for palliative care with this learning approach than without. So far, there has not been much reported on how simulation contributes to learning in clinical practice. Therefore, this study explored whether learning outcomes from palliative care simulation further developed in practice. Second-year bachelor's-prepared nursing students voluntarily participated in a simulation activity as part of their hospital practice. Eleven students were interviewed about their learning experiences. The findings indicate that a prerequisite for further learning was to actively choose palliative care. Relationships with nurses, patients, and relatives and factors in themselves served as gatekeepers for attending learning situations. Becoming a nurse who can provide palliative care was described as an emotionally challenging experience. Elements that promoted learning outcomes in palliative care were simulation experience, clarified expectations, support, and a good dialog with the nurse before and after the learning situation.

Nursing students' perception on transferring experiences in palliative care simulation to practice.

BACKGROUND: Learning palliative care is challenging for nursing students. Simulation is recommended as a learning approach. Whether experiences from simulation transfer into clinical practice must be investigated. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore nursing students' experiences of participating in palliative care simulation and examine how they describe the perceived transfer of knowledge, skills, and competence into clinical practise. METHOD: This prospective, qualitative study was comprised of 11 in-depth interviews with second-year bachelor nursing students. Content analysis was performed to analyse the answers to open-ended questions. RESULTS: From this sample, simulation is a preferred method to gather knowledge, skills, and attitudes towards palliative care. Realistic cases stimulated senses and feelings. Courage grew through active participation and debriefing and influenced the students' self-confidence. Debriefing seemed to alter the situation from one of chaos to control. CONCLUSIONS: Experiences from the simulation were perceived to transfer to practice, serve as a sound basis for clinical judgement, and enable communication with patients and their relatives. Continuity in learning through simulation combined with practice is highlighted.