A faculty development collaborative in interprofessional simulation

This article describes a project that was funded through the Texas Center for Nursing Workforce Studies and the Texas Team. A strategic plan presented to the governor of Texas in 2008 by the Texas Team provided strategies addressing nursing education capacity in Texas, with the goal of increasing the number of nursing graduates to meet forecasted needs. The Central Texas Region identified the increasing use of clinical simulation as one way to meet a subset of goals and objectives of the plan. With this pedagogy being new, it was determined through a needs assessment that faculty development in simulation was a priority. This article will discuss the collaboration of 12 nursing programs and practice partners to provide faculty development in clinical simulation. Four workshops were held across the region, during which time six interprofessional simulation scenarios were written and clinical simulation experts identified at each of the schools and participating practice facilities. As a result of the faculty development in clinical simulation, 80% of the respondents reported that simulation has increased in their nursing programs, and 30% reported having increased student enrollment because of the faculty's ability to increase the use of simulation.