"That’s not how we do it in clinical": A simulation educator’s strategy to enhance realism through clinical immersion with nursing students

Introduction Enhancing fidelity by replicating an environment that represents reality to the individual student is essential to the design and implementation of high-quality clinical simulation learning activities. Simulation educators are responsible for working with content experts to develop simulations that can enhance learner performance and clinical judgement. The purpose of this poster presentation is to describe a creative approach to enhance collaboration between simulation faculty, clinical educators, and the clinical environment to promote the development of effective simulation scenarios.
Project It is important for the simulation educator to have thorough knowledge of the various settings where clinical learning occurs. This can be a challenge for faculty new to the university and health care facilities. The novice simulation faculty coordinated with prelicensure clinical instructors to participate in clinical learning activities in various practice settings.
Outcomes During the clinical rotation, the new simulation nurse educator was able to gain an more in-depth knowledge and hands-on application of: hospital policies/protocols, safety equipment, room setup and environment, medical equipment, medication administration with barcode scanning and electronic health record charting.
Conclusions Clinical immersion with nursing students in the health system allows the simulation faculty to observe the students’ frame of reference and the hospital environment where they practice. Re-enacting similarities from the student’s clinical experience can help increase fidelity and enhance the simulation experience. Furthermore, clinical immersion allows the simulation faculty to develop collaborative working relationships with clinical instructors and create simulation scenarios that correlate with students’ course objectives.