Nursing student perceptions of intraprofessional team education using high-fidelity simulation

High-fidelity simulation in health professional programs helps educators and students meet the challenges of increasingly complex clinical practice settings. Simulation has been used primarily to train nursing students either in interprofessional teams or within their respective nursing training levels. However, students' experiences of learning alongside others in different levels or years of the nursing program have not been explored. BSN students (N = 48) were placed in intraprofessional teams (i.e., one student from each nursing level) to manage acute pediatric and adult simulation scenarios. Students were instructed to manage the clinical scenario based on their level of clinical competence and education. Following debriefing, students responded to a satisfaction survey regarding their simulation experiences and their perceptions of learning within an intraprofessional nursing team. Project results suggest that intraprofessional educational experiences provide rich learning opportunities for both third-year and fourth-year nursing students. In addition, simulation provides a context within which to support intraprofessional nursing student education.