Telehealth Virtual Simulation Across the Family Nurse Practitioner Curriculum.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Health Informatics
• Telehealth

Background:

• Telehealth education is crucial for nurse practitioners (NPs) to enhance healthcare accessibility.
• Existing research on NP telehealth simulation often lacks focus on curriculum-wide integration.
• There is a need to evaluate the impact of sustained telehealth simulation in NP programs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess family nurse practitioner students' perceptions of telehealth knowledge, confidence, and attitudes.
• To evaluate the effect of telehealth virtual simulations integrated across six courses.
• To determine the impact of multi-course simulation on telehealth competency development.

Main Methods:

• A pre- and post-survey design was employed.
• Family nurse practitioner students participated in telehealth virtual simulations across six courses.
• Student perceptions were measured before and after the simulation interventions.

Main Results:

• Telehealth virtual simulations were rated highly by students.
• A significant increase in telehealth knowledge was observed in three out of the six courses.
• Student confidence and attitudes towards telehealth showed positive trends post-simulation.

Conclusions:

• Integrating telehealth virtual simulations into multiple courses is feasible and well-received in NP education.
• Curriculum-wide telehealth simulation can enhance NP students' knowledge and readiness for practice.
• Further research should explore long-term impacts and broader implementation strategies for telehealth in nursing.