The purpose of this project is to develop laboratory simulations that approximate actual clinical practice settings. Computer-based case scenarios that focus on critical skills needed by nursing students when they graduate were developed, and are continuing to be developed and revised. At a time, when there is a critical shortage of qualified nurses, the East Carolina University School of Nursing is committed to increasing enrollment of both pre-licensure and RN-BSN students and to meeting the nursing needs of our geographic region. However, for students to graduate with the skills necessary to function in a complex, health care environment, they must be exposed to the latest advances in health care delivery while in school. Simulated client scenarios foster critical thinking skills, strengthen individual nursing interventions, and promote interdisciplinary health team function. The Student Nurse to RN Transition project concentrates on fostering problem solving and holistic client care, beginning in the first semester of nursing school. Case scenarios and laboratory simulations were developed to challenge students to integrate information from multiple sources into comprehensive interventions, steer them through specific nursing procedures, and encourage them to evaluate the effectiveness of their actions. The scenarios direct students to perform nursing procedures on laboratory models and provide students randomly selected “results” of the interventions. Students are required to document their care in simulated patient records and to review their documentation and performance with the instructor. Evaluation of the project will include existing student and faculty surveys, questionnaires to employers of graduates, and scores on nationally standardized tests (Total Testing). Results from previous years will be compared to those of students graduating after simulations are integrated into the curriculum. At the time of this presentation, data for one semester of implementation will be available.
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