Establishing psychological safety in simulation: Faculty perceptions

A psychologically safe learning environment is defined as one where individuals feel comfortable to take interpersonal risks without fear of negative consequences. Despite knowledge of best practice for simulation, there is a lack of knowledge regarding how nursing faculty perceive and establish psychological safety in a simulated learning environment.

The purpose of this study was to explore nursing faculty's perceptions of psychological safety as it exists within a simulation learning environment for pre-licensure nursing students.

Mixed methods with online survey data collection.

Purposive sampling was used to recruit simulation nursing faculty who had previously participated in the National League for Nursing Leadership Development Program. Faculty were recruited from the United States and Canada.

Data were collected using a series of open-ended questions through the online survey tool, SurveyGizmo. Content analysis was utilized to discover how faculty established psychological safety during the pre-brief, scenario, and debriefing phases of simulation. Three researchers independently, then collaboratively, reviewed the data, identifying themes and patterns across each phase.

Thirty-seven nursing faculty participated in the study. Across the phases of pre-brief, scenario, and debriefing, five themes emerged: (1) Setting the Stage; (2) It's ok, It's Simulation; (3) Everyone is Here to Learn; (4) Planned Strategies; and (5) Facilitator as Observer.

Faculty perceive that they play a role in establishing a psychologically safe learning environment during all three phases of a simulation experience. Scenarios are purposefully designed to emotionally protect students while they participate in unfamiliar encounters. Strategies are implemented throughout all three phases to facilitate student risk-taking as part of the learning process. Faculty watch for verbal and non-verbal cues by students signaling a potentially psychologically unsafe learning environment, and intervene to protect them if necessary.