Role modeling clinical judgment for an unfolding older adult simulation

Nurse educators must foster development of clinical judgment in students to help them provide the best care for the increasing population of older adult patients. This article reports qualitative findings from a mixed-methods study that focused on clinical judgment in the simulated perioperative care of an older adult. The sample was composed of treatment and control groups of prelicensure students (N = 275) at five sites. The treatment group watched a video of an expert nurse role model caring for a patient similar to the simulation patient, whereas the control group did not watch the video. Four weeks after simulation, participants cared for real-life, older adult perioperative patients. After the simulated and real-life care experiences, participants completed questionnaires related to clinical judgment dimensions. These two data sets revealed rich findings about the students' simulation learning, affirming the value of expert role models. Transferability of simulation learning to practice was also explored.