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
report. The taped report consists of information that is complete for
some patients and deliberately incomplete for others. This is done
to assess the students’ level of preparation, critical thinking skills
and ability to articulate additional information that is needed to
deliver safe and effective nursing care.
Students functioning as care providers listen to the taped report in a
separate area of the laboratory. Following report the student who
assumes to the RN role delegates patient care to the LPN or nurse’s
aide. A faculty member evaluates the appropriateness of the
assignment and asks the student to provide rationale for the choices
they have made.
During patient report, those students who are assuming the patient
role don examination gowns and attach themselves to the
equipment required for their care. Once students are settled into
their respective hospital beds they are interviewed by faculty
members to determine their level of preparation for the simulation.
Students are asked to present their assigned patient role and are
questioned about their admitting diagnosis and associated
pathophysiology. Students are then asked to identify clinical
priorities for the patient they play.
At the completion of report and faculty interviews, the care
providers assess patients, plan and give required treatments and
medications, and collaborate with interdisciplinary team members to
meet patient needs. The time frame from the beginning of report to
the end of Phase One is approximately 90 minutes.
Phase 2:
In the second phase, unplanned or “wildcard” events are initiated by
faculty members. The unplanned events are not disclosed to any of
the students prior to the simulation and are meant to challenge the
critical thinking and assessment skills of those students in the care
provider roles. These events also assess the students’ ability to
prioritize and delegate patient care needs. Examples of these
events are listed in Table 1 below:
Table 1 – Unplanned Events
� Patient asks to be discharged against medical
advise
� Patient falls out of bed
� Patient experiences an adverse drug reaction
� Patient is unable to void and requires the nurse to
recognize the need for insertion of a urinary
catheter
� Patient experiences instability in his/her
hemodynamic status
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