REPLY TO STUDENT AND PROFESSOR.
Professor
Kesa Herlihy
Victoria,
Thank you for your post. From an educational standpoint, discuss the importance of the debriefing phase for simulation education.
Dr Herlihy
student
Claire Rouleau-Dise
Simulation in nursing education is an excellent way for students to get hands-on experience, gain confidence and learn skills prior to entering clinical (Padilha et al 2019). Further, simulation can be used as a means of recreating specific experiences or scenarios that students may not have the opportunity to in a specialized clinical setting such as reproductive health (Akalin and Sahin 2020). In March of 2020, our reproductive health clinical sites were completely shut down to students due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The university I teach for shifted our entire curriculum to a virtual platform, utilizing a combination of Zoom meetings, online teaching modules, video presentations and a final simulation called Drexel Deliveries where students were able to watch a simulated delivery in our sim lab. The graduation rate from that class of students was 98% and the NCLEX pass rate was about 93% on the first try. The simulated delivery was continued as part of the reproductive health curriculum to help students who may not be able to observe a delivery in their clinical rotation. Student feedback about it was incredibly positive and the course faculty moved it from week 8 of the quarter to week 1. It was incorporated with a skills refresher of urinary catheterization, IM and Sub Q injections, and some other knowledge stations such as stages of labor, baby care, perineal care, and after-delivery care. The clinical faculty also meet their students for the first time at the simulation lab and do all of their course orientation and paperwork there, which alleviates that for the first day at the site. The move of this simulation day from week 8 to week 1 has been going on for two quarters and the students who have gone through it have all said they feel much more comfortable and prepared for their first day of clinical.
Some gaps in learning in the OB clinical space that I have noticed include care of a NICU or ill baby, postpartum teaching, and care of a C-section patient. Not all hospitals or sites allow students to experience these areas or have them available. These are critical and important knowledge and skill components to have for the reproductive and pediatric populations. These stations could be integrated into the week 1 simulation lab in the way of a hands-on station. The C-section delivery could also be swapped out instead of the vaginal delivery as the final sim observation for the delivery to be observed, or it could be recorded for the students to watch to compare and contrast. Oliveria et al (2023) stress the importance of planning and designing the simulation to meet the needs of the learners. Adding in components to the sim that address things that the students may not get to see in the clinical site will ensure that they will have some exposure to them, and that their education is as well-rounded as possible.
References:
Akalin, A., & Sahin, S. (2020). Obstetric simulation in undergraduate nursing education: An integrative review. Nursing Forum, 55(3), 369–379. https://doi.org/10.1111/nuf.12437
Oliveira Silva, G., Fonseca, L. M. M., Siqueira, K. M., de Goes, F. D. S. N., Ribeiro, L. M., & Aredes, N. D. A. (2023). The simulation design in health and nursing: A scoping review. Nursing Open, 10(4), 1966–1984. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.1466
Padilha, J. M., Machado, P. P., Ribeiro, A., Ramos, J., & Costa, P. (2019). Clinical Virtual Simulation in Nursing Education: Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 21(3), e11529. https://doi.org/10.2196/11529