A taxonomy of games and simulations for nursing education

The purposes of this study were to locate games and simulations available for nursing education, to categorize these materials to make them more accessible for nurse educators, and to determine how nursing's use of instructional games might be enhanced. Twenty-nine games and simulations were identified in the nursing literature. The taxonomy developed for this study described three types of process games: clinical, pathophysiologic and psychosocial. These games were further analyzed using a modified version of Ruben's (1977) classification, which compared and contrasted games by structural components and control parameters. The taxonomy is intended to guide nurse educators in conveniently locating games and simulations which may fit or be tailored to fit individual learning objectives. Recommendations include instituting standards for describing games and simulations, establishing a clearinghouse for disseminating information on nursing games and initiating research on the effectiveness of games and simulations as instructional strategies.