Nursing students? interaction with a computer-controlled human patient simulator

Active learning by caring for patients has been the preferred method of achieving competency. Simulation learning provides the opportunity for the learner to practice and learn in an environment as close to reality as possible. Students interact with the simulator, discovering critical assessment information in the same manner they would with real patients. High-fidelity simulation was conducted at one nursing school in Macao. All scenarios were designed using a computer-controlled human patient simulator (HPS, SimMan Laerdal Sales Office, New York, USA). 113 Chinese baccalaureate nursing students (77 in year 2, 36 in year 3) completed all simulation sessions. Their age ranged between 19 and 26 years (mean = 21.24, S.D. = 1.26). Students received an orientation to the simulation laboratory to familiarize them with technology and learning process one week before simulation. Students worked with five scenarios during a four week block with nine hours per week. They were voluntarily divided into different tutorial groups. Each group consisted of 5 or 6 students with two tutors. The learning process includes case clarification, health assessment, nursing intervention and debriefing. This paper described the simulation design and students? interaction with a computer-controlled human patient. The Simulation Design Evaluation Questionnaire was used to evaluate students? views on simulation design in terms of realism, transferability and arrangement. The content validity Index (CVI) was reported as 0.91. The internal consistency reliability was evaluated to assess the internal consistency of the Simulation Evaluation Scale were shown as 0.832. Students had positive feelings about the simulation design. The scenarios used with the simulator recreate real-life situations. The learning objectives were clear. Students considered that the interaction with the simulator improved their clinical competence. Simulation experience increased their confidence about going into the actual clinical setting. The clinical decision-making skills taught in the simulation are valuable. The knowledge they gained from the simulation could be used in nursing care. Integrating simulation into existing curriculum structures requires faculty commitment to enhance their own teaching skills and redesign existing programs. Organizational commitment is also essential for this innovative teaching method due to the significant resources required for program implementation and ongoing financial support. Additional studies to test the impact of this teaching method on learner performance, patient safety, clinical outcomes, faculty perceptions and cost efficient will provide valuable support for using high-fidelity simulation in nursing education.