Exploring APN Students' Perceptions, Self-Confidence, and Satisfaction With Clinical Simulation.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Healthcare Simulation

Background:

• Clinical simulation is a vital pedagogical tool in healthcare education.
• Assessing student perceptions is crucial for optimizing simulation effectiveness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate advanced practice nursing students' perceptions of clinical simulation.
• To determine the impact of simulation on student self-confidence and satisfaction.
• To identify factors influencing student experience with simulation.

Main Methods:

• A health assessment course utilized clinical simulation for 69 advanced practice students.
• Data collected on student perceptions, self-confidence, and satisfaction.
• Regression analysis examined the relationship between simulation fidelity and self-confidence.

Main Results:

• Students generally agreed on the presence of key simulation features.
• Students lacking Registered Nurse (RN) experience reported lower feelings of support and perceived less appropriateness of the simulated scenario.
• Higher simulation fidelity significantly correlated with increased self-confidence (p = .003).

Conclusions:

• Simulation is a valuable learning modality for advanced practice students.
• Addressing the needs of inexperienced students in simulation is important for enhancing their learning experience.
• Simulation fidelity is a key determinant of student self-confidence in clinical assessment skills.