I would like you dear colleagues, nurses in particular, to reflect on your experience using patient simulators to improve (nursing) students' clinical reasoning and decision-making skills. Needless to say, the limited number of clinical placement alternatives and our heavy reliance on the accidental learning opportunities make teaching our students how to assess, care and evaluate patients a very challenging, if possible at all. Therefore, the use of patient simulation has become one "good" choice for the students to see and practice on cases they may not be exposed to during their training. I supported to the use of simulators as an additional source of training along with the clinical settings as it produces a highly structured and well-defined environment for the student to learn. However, this alternative method did not, in my experience, improve students' abilities, nor it enhanced their ability to make sound decisions once facing similar scenarios in the real life. I even see that many studies conducted to measure the improvement were limited in different ways and did not really convince the reader in many cases with their conclusions. I need your contribution and a reflection of your experience.
I agree with you, using different methods of teaching and training will add a lot to our students' abilities. when their are some obstacles like what you mention that make opportunities unavailable for training on specific procedures then it will be a good idea to use stimulation lab for example; on evaluation of students' skills in Maternity nursing, or critical nursing, it will be better to let them practice on maternal manikin or sum man manikins in the lab, or to clarify some process in details.
I do appreciate your time dear colleagues, but this topic could be of considerable importance looking at the magnitude of literature promoting the use of simulators to increase clinical reasoning amongst students. While, in fact, I did not come across any intermediate or long term study that really shows the difference and the change. Therefore, I would say that simulators might or might not help, depending on many factors.
Have your say, reflect on the topic, and help us acknowledge your experience.
Dear Al Hadid
I am looking forward to conducting a study on the role of simulation method in improving nursing student learning abilities and if you would like to participate in this study which I intend to conduct soon to find out the benefit from simulation through the study results that will be achieved.
Sure. But I need to say here that this study should longitudinal and should measure students' achievement and progress taking into consideration the level of maturity as one important factor.
Perhaps the fear you feel in a real-life situation does not come to pass in a simulation situation. I give you an example:
Indeed, but I still have doubts about the level of anxiety that students have when encountering a simulated situation as compared to the real-life one. surely, there is a difference. Therefore, the ability of students to make decisions would be different as well. The whole story that lingers in my mind is whether students truly learn how to manage serious patient situations and make sound decisions based on their learning experiences from using simulated ones or not.
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