ABSTRACT
Little is known about clinical instructors' perceptions of student decision-making in relation to the block sequencing of simulation and traditional clinical experiences. Focus groups were conducted with 12 clinical instructors. Three common threads emerged from the data: right away, anxious but more confident, and scary and unsafe. Instructors noted that the more patient care experiences encountered, the more students developed efficient clinical decision-making skills. Major safety concerns regarding medication administration were identified, resulting in additional safety parameters instituted in the simulated environment.
Subject(s)
Curriculum , Education, Nursing/organization & administration , Faculty, Nursing/psychology , Simulation Training/organization & administration , Clinical Competence , Focus Groups , Humans , Nursing Education Research , Nursing Evaluation Research , Pilot Projects , Students, Nursing/psychologyABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to explore the differences in clinical decision-making and clinical competence between two different cohorts of graduating baccalaureate nursing students from a traditional prelicensure program in the United States. A quasi-experimental design was used to compare students who had substituted their traditional medical-surgical clinical experiences with simulation (Cohort 1, n = 35) with students who had supplementary simulation in addition to their traditional clinical experiences (Cohort 2, n = 36). The findings demonstrated that when simulation was used as a supplement to traditional clinical experiences, participants performed better patient assessments.
