Connecting the dots: Bridging virtual to in-person physical assessment

When restrictions imposed by COVID-19 prevented prelicensure nursing students from practicing skills in the simulation center, the faculty designed a plan to bridge the gap from virtual to in-person skill performance for physical assessments. The faculty anticipated an inadequacy of head-to-toe assessment skills related to the lack of face-to-face clinical. Therefore, the faculty used the Plan-Do-Study-Act model (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2020) for quality improvement to address the skill performance issue. The plan used colored adhesive "garage sale" dots to identify anatomical landmarks to help students with correct stethoscope placement during their first in-person simulation after a virtual semester. Pre- and post-tests were administered to assess confidence in assessment skills. Using this method on standardized patients in simulation, nursing students reported increased confidence in stethoscope placement. Students of all healthcare disciplines could benefit from the economical dotting process to learn correct stethoscope placement.