A Review: Using Simulation-based Education to Substitute Traditional Clinical Rotations

Abstract

Nursing programs are challenged with limited clinical placement, and a shortage of faculty. Curricular objectives are increasingly difficult to achieve as the traditional clinical setting impairs the ability to meet high-quality clinical experiences for pre-licensure nursing students due to the lack of access to patient care areas, hence making it difficult to achieve learning objectives and program outcomes. A solution supported by the literature is to substitute traditional clinical rotations with simulated clinical events. Although simulation-based education has been adopted by nursing programs as a teaching strategy for clinical instruction, the effectiveness of SBE remained inconclusive in the literature. Research is focused on students ‘perceived learning, satisfaction with simulation, self-confidence and self-efficacy ratings. Scarcity is evident in the quantitative evidence of the effectiveness of simulation-based education. Nursing practice is dependent on critical thinking and clinical reasoning skills. Learning is not be optimized without standardization of simulated clinical rotations and the lack of rigor for the measurement of learning. Best Practices are outlined by the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning and the National Council of State Boards for Nursing for training and education of faculty. The implementation of simulation-based education and its outcome on learning remains limited in the literature. This article summarizes research, best practices and accrediting agencies’ recommendations.