Perceived benefits of a simulation experience to nursing students’ clinical practice and learning decision making skills

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore nursing students’ perceptions of the usefulness of the simulated experience to developing clinical decision-making skills. Background: There has been an increasing utilisation of high-fidelity simulation in nursing education. However, there is a lack of evidence about how learning from simulation can affect students’ clinical decision-making skills and whether the skills learnt from the simulation experiences can be translated to clinical practice. Design: This study adopted a qualitative methodology. Methods: Twenty-three final year nursing students participated in a high-fidelity simulation of an acute clinical scenario. Four to six months after this experience, face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted to capture their views on learning from simulation session and subsequent application in practice. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed and thematically analysed. Results: Five themes emerged from the interviews as to how students perceived the usefulness of simulation learning to clinical practice. Students described that the simulation experience enhanced their active engagement in the learning process. It helped them develop their self-awareness, critical thinking, and decision-making skills. They describe how the debriefing after the exercise was a critical part of their learning from simulation. Overall, they found the simulation improved the way in which they apply the theory learnt about decision making through simulation to clinical practice. Conclusion: High fidelity simulation exercise was positively perceived to benefit nursing students learning decision-making skills, which is useful information for future improvement of nursing curricula to optimise learning and transfer effective care to clinical care settings.