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Sunday, November 1, 2009
Learning Objective 1: discuss effective evaluation methods for clinical faculty using simulation
Learning Objective 2: discuss methods for measurement of clinical judgment of nursing students
Nursing educators are challenged to ensure the undergraduate curriculum achieves the performance outcomes that graduate nurses are expected to possess, and to identify gaps in learning. The Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice (AACN, 2008) expand on these practice-focused outcomes, and delineate the knowledge, skills and attitudes that baccalaureate nurses should be able to demonstrate. Medication errors are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States , and hospitals are diligently working to prevent those errors. High-alert medications are those that bear substantial risk of causing patient harm when used in error. Schools of nursing teach the basics of correct medication administration, but students may not receive significant clinical education on use of these high-alert medications. Simulation has emerged as a method for teaching clinical skills in a realistic, but safe environment. While simulation research is increasing in nursing education, there are few studies evaluating the effectiveness of simulation compared with traditional teaching methods for clinical knowledge and skills . Additionally, schools of nursing are struggling with the faculty development needed prior to teaching with simulation. For adjunct and clinical faculty who teach students across the curriculum, ensuring they are equipped with the skills they need to teach with simulation is a challenging task. The Specific aims of this study were: to determine if a simulation experience is superior to traditional methods for improving learner outcomes in clinical judgment in administration of a high-alert medication, specifically insulin; to test use of the Tanner model of clinical judgment in a diverse population of students and new graduates; and to compare the effectiveness of two methods of faculty development in coaching clinical faculty in use of simulation. In this presentation, results of this study , which was conducted in a large urban school of nursing, will be described. The process of teaching clinical faculty to use simulation, and the identification of what outcomes to measure for evaluation will be discussed. Outcomes measured included faculty and student satisfaction; clinical judgment scores; videotaped performance in simulation scenarios for students; videotaped debriefing of clinical faculty; and comparitive evaluation between full time and clinical faculty. This study is significant to nursing because of its potential to demonstrate a more effective method of educating trainees to safely administer a high-alert medication. Because of the critical importance of reducing medication errors in healthcare, exploring different avenues of educating nurses on safety in high alert medication administration are essential.