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Finding the right balance: student perceptions of using virtual simulation as a community placement
Victoria Wik1, Samuel Barfield2, Morgan Cornwall2
1Olds, AB, Canada.
International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship
|September 14, 2022
Summary
Virtual simulation effectively teaches community health concepts but should supplement, not replace, real-world clinical placements for students. This approach enhances learning experiences.
Area of Science:
- Nursing Education
- Public Health Practice
- Simulation-Based Learning
Background:
- Clinical placements are crucial for nursing education but have faced significant challenges, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Universities are exploring innovative solutions to provide essential clinical learning experiences for undergraduate students.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of the Sentinel City®3.1 virtual simulation program as a clinical placement for undergraduate nursing students.
- To identify student-perceived best practices for utilizing virtual simulation to support community and population health learning.
Main Methods:
- A quality improvement analysis was conducted, guided by Jeffries' (2005) simulation framework.
- Feedback was gathered from 16 undergraduate students who utilized Sentinel City®3.1 for their clinical placement.
Main Results:
- Students found Sentinel City®3.1 to be an effective tool for learning community and population health concepts.
- Despite its effectiveness, all students expressed a preference for more opportunities to engage with real community settings.
Conclusions:
- Virtual simulation programs, such as Sentinel City®3.1, are valuable learning supplements in nursing education.
- These programs may be best utilized to augment, rather than entirely substitute, traditional clinical placement experiences for optimal student development.
