Conference Proceedings - School of Nursing & Midwifery - Trinity ...

School of Nursing & Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin: 8 th Annual Interdisciplinary Research Conference
Transforming Healthcare Through Research, Education & Technology: 7 th – 9 th November 2007
Conference Proceedings
Conclusions:
Intermediate-fidelity simulation can be a powerful teaching tool
when an interdisciplinary approach is used and the complexity is
designed to challenge, but not overwhelm students.
Introduction
Simulation use in health education dates back to the 1960s with the
invention of the mannequin that later became the prototype for
teaching cardiopulmonary resuscitation (Cooper & Taqueti, 2004).
Simulation has been used as a teaching strategy in medical
education for decades with anesthesia being the primary medical
discipline involved in the early design and development of
simulation technology. Within the nursing discipline, simulation was
first implemented as role play and has since advanced to include
computerized technology such as SimMan® and virtual reality
programs to enhance the fidelity or realism of the nurse-patient
interaction.
In an era of increased awareness regarding medical errors,
simulation is gaining popularity as a teaching strategy that allows
faculty from all disciplines to safely teach students complex skills
and high risk procedures in real time. Despite its perceived
benefits, evaluative evidence that positively correlates simulation
with effective skill performance is limited (Thurman & Dunlap,
1999). Bradley (2006) asserts that if the evidence to support the
use of simulation is not developed, the “potential of simulation [use]
at all levels and across all disciplines will not be realized.”
The authors used an intermediate fidelity clinical simulation to
provide student nurses with an opportunity to develop skills in
prioritizing patient care, critically think, and perform routine and
complex procedures. This simulation was also used as a strategy to
review National Council Licensure Examination-RN (NCLEX-RN)
content. The interdisciplinary approach that was employed
increased both the fidelity and complexity of the experience and
gave novice healthcare providers the opportunity to practice
interdisciplinary collaboration. In this paper the authors discuss
their experience with the development, implementation, and
evaluation of this intermediate fidelity interdisciplinary clinical
simulation and student perceptions regarding its effectiveness.
Literature Review
Simulation is described in terms of its fidelity or realism. The level
of technology incorporated into the simulation determines whether
it is characterized as low, intermediate, or high fidelity. Low fidelity
simulation, more commonly known as role play, does not
incorporate the use of technology. Intermediate fidelity simulation
blends role play with the technology that is more commonly
associated with high fidelity simulation. As the name implies, high
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