Integrating Gerontology and Community Concepts Through Simulation

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Simulation-Based Learning
• Gerontology

Background:

• Traditional nursing education requires innovative approaches to enhance student learning.
• Integrating diverse didactic content within simulation offers a comprehensive educational experience.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe an innovative, integrated simulation experience for nursing students.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of combining low- and high-fidelity simulation.
• To assess faculty collaboration in simulation design and delivery.

Main Methods:

• A collaborative effort between community health nursing and gerontology faculty.
• Implementation of a simulation experience blending low-fidelity and high-fidelity modalities.
• Collection of student and faculty feedback on the simulation experience.

Main Results:

• The integrated simulation provided a comprehensive learning experience.
• Faculty collaboration was facilitated, leading to improved outcomes.
• Student and faculty feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

Conclusions:

• Combined low- and high-fidelity simulation is an effective educational strategy.
• Interdisciplinary faculty collaboration enhances simulation effectiveness.
• Future plans include expanding the simulation to include leadership and management concepts and interprofessional collaboration.