Cultivating Clinical Judgment Through Wound Building: A Teaching Innovation.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Clinical Skills Development
• Simulation-Based Learning

Background:

• Prelicensure nursing students often have limited hands-on wound care experience, impacting their confidence in assessment and management.
• Traditional educational methods may not provide sufficient authentic practice opportunities for developing critical wound care competencies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a novel, low-cost simulation activity in enhancing nursing students' wound care knowledge and confidence.
• To assess the impact of a peer-led, simulation-based wound care training on students' clinical judgment.

Main Methods:

• Students created hyper-realistic wounds using everyday materials, adhering to INACSL Standards.
• Peer-led stations facilitated wound assessment, staging, and care strategy development.
• Faculty-led debriefing sessions focused on AACN Essentials and clinical judgment.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements were observed in student knowledge and confidence from pretest (M=59.7) to posttest (M=80.6; p < .001).
• A large effect size (Cohen's d = 1.59) indicated substantial gains in learning.
• Qualitative data revealed high student engagement, better theoretical application, and increased confidence in wound assessment skills.

Conclusions:

• The innovative simulation activity effectively bridges the educational gap in wound care for nursing students.
• This scalable, low-cost strategy provides a validated model for enhancing clinical judgment in nursing education.
• The approach aligns with national standards, demonstrating measurable improvements in essential nursing competencies.