Strategies for implementing a multiple patient simulation scenario

Nursing students often care for one or two patients during hospital clinical experiences, while under the supervision of a nurse educator. In this setting, students have limited opportunities to make clinical judgments, prioritize, and delegate while caring for multiple patients. Research supports the need for students to have increased experiences in caring for multiple patients. The aim of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of a multiple patient simulated clinical experience (SCE) on senior students' perception of their readiness to transition to practice. There were 214 senior nursing student participants in this mixed methods embedded design study. Following a multiple patient SCE all participants completed a self-report survey designed to measure essential competencies for transition to practice. Qualitative data in the form of written comments were also collected. Essential competencies for transition to practice were defined as decision making skills, interprofessional communication, and level of preparedness. Quantitative and qualitative data indicated that students perceived increased levels of confidence in their readiness to transition to practice following the multiple patient SCE. The study revealed an innovative teaching-learning strategy that can assist educators with preparing nursing students to care for multiple complex patients.