Everyone, at some point in their lives, will need to visit the hospital and require nursing care. As a result, nurses are always under intense scrutiny to provide safe and effective patient care. Patients trust their lives to healthcare professionals and nurses – that they will provide them with the compassionate and effective patient care.
This puts a lot of responsibility on universities, colleges and institutes to graduate nurses who are capable of delivering safe and accurate patient care. The instructional methods used by nursing educators in their programs have a strong influence on the clinical decision-making abilities of their future nursing graduates.
Preparing Nurses with Simulation Lab Learning
One strategy to better prepare nurses for their first day on the floor, and one that has become an integral part of modern nursing courses, is nursing simulation technology. According to discovernursing.com, this technology consists of high-tech tools such as virtual software and human patient simulators which mimic patient actions and symptoms that the future nurses will see on the job in the real world.
There are different types of simulation technology, including replicating portions of body/environment, patient role-playing, and interactive mannequins capable of realistic physiologic responses. The U.S. Military uses similar simulation technology to train their combat nurses.
According to Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses, the use of simulation technology in education programs prepares nurses to prevent medication errors, develop critical thinking and decision-making skills, promote effective communication with patients, and encourages teamwork.
Positive Effects of Simulation Labs in Nursing
The handbook also points to a study conducted by Ravert that examined how valid simulation technology is in better preparing nurses for the job. That study concluded 75% of the research indicates simulation labs had positive effects on knowledge acquisition and training skills. Evidence-based literature in this area remains a work in progress and continues to develop. And, of course, educators still need to provide nurses with extensive lectures and ongoing evaluation.
As strong believers in the value of nursing simulation during learning and training, the Fortis nursing team of educators utilize the technology for a variety of nursing programs, including associate degrees, practical nursing and bachelor’s degrees. Fortis prepares students with the education and skills to begin a successful nursing career. To learn more about the programs, visit us here.
