Use of the human patient simulator to teach clinical judgment skills in a baccalaureate nursing program

Nurse educators are finding it increasingly more challenging to prepare undergraduate students for the ever-changing and more acute clinical environment. As an answer to this dilemma, the human patient simulator can provide students with the opportunity to enhance knowledge, to facilitate skill acquisition, to decrease anxiety, and to promote clinical judgment in a safe environment. These experiences assist the novice nursing student to progress to the advanced beginner stage of practice. This article describes how faculty used the human patient simulator in creating a case scenario that enhanced critical thinking in senior nursing students.