ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the education of nursing students across the world. Nursing students were unable to care for patients with COVID-19 at the beginning and potentially throughout nursing school depending on the facility and nursing school restrictions. It was not known how the participation in a high-fidelity simulation will impact the confidence level of nursing students in the care of patients with COVID-19. A mixed methods phenomenological qualitative and survey design was utilized to determine the confidence level of nursing students after participation in a high-fidelity simulation of a patient diagnosed with COVID-19. A convenience sample of fifteen participants completed the research study from a population of second year nursing students at a community college in Northwest Arkansas. The data were collected from focus groups both before and after participation in a high-fidelity simulation and a questionnaire that was completed after participation in a high-fidelity simulation. The interview data were analyzed using NVivo after being transcribed into a Microsoft Word document. The questionnaire data were transferred into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and the mean and standard deviation were calculated. The theme related to the impact of participation in a high-fidelity simulation was the importance of communication. The themes related to concerns in caring for patients with COVID-19 was contracting the disease, care, and long-term effects. The theme related to preparation to care for COVID-19 was that the participants felt better prepared to care for patients. The participants of the pilot and research study stated that the participants had improved confidence in caring for patients with COVID-19 after participation in a high-fidelity simulation.Keywords: nursing education, nursing students, COVID-19, high-fidelity simulation, confidence level. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)