Over the years, we have observed that most students quickly focus and feverishly write the report while several giggle and others look astonished. Those students who arrive late to class quickly realize that this is an unacceptable professional behavior (xxxxxxx Undergraduate Nursing Handbook, 2018). After students submit their reports, instructors lead a debriefing exercise, an important aspect of simulation (Jeffries, 2005). This is done to ease student anxiety. It is emphasized that the classroom and on-campus clinical lab are places to learn how to nurse. It is made clear that a “xxxxxxx Safety-Net” will “catch them” during their learning – if and when they falter and make mistakes. This preparation is essential so that they may be at their best to prevent costly mistakes when caring for real individuals.
On the last day of classes, the students are once again instructed to “take report.” For this round, ten open-ended questions about the case become an open-book quiz. Students formally and informally reported, “Wow, I get this now” or that the report provided a “shock of reality.” One student incorporated similar aspect in their speech during a pinning ceremony. Some have referred to it as a “rite of passage” and a “keeper” and seemingly have not ‘warned’ incoming students. Even after graduation, students have spontaneously shared thoughts about learning from ‘the report’ experiences (Dewey, 1938). These findings contribute to those in the literature that demonstrate how simulated reports contribute to student confidence (Malone, Anderson, & Manning, 2016); and add evidence to demonstrate how this low-fidelity simulation supports critical thinking and reflective learning (Bortolato-Major et al., 2018). This inexpensive evidence-based strategy may easily be replicated.
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