Observational experiential learning facilitated by debriefing for meaningful learning : exploring student roles in simulation

Abstract

Simulation is an educational strategy used in prelicensure nursing education that has been demonstrated to effectively replace selected clinical experiences. Simulation experiences may include the use of differing roles including the active participant, who makes decisions during the simulation and the passive observer, who watches the simulation unfold. There is a lack of rigorous research testing whether students in the passive observer role during simulations demonstrate and retain knowledge similarly to those in active participant roles. In addition, differences in knowledge applied to a contextually similar case between those who actively participate and passively observe have not been studied. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between nursing student’s roles in simulation and cognitive knowledge demonstration, retention, and application about two contextually similar cases of respiratory distress. An experimental, pretest-multiple posttest, repeated measures study was conducted with a convenience sample of 119 baccalaureate prelicensure nursing students from a large multi-campus Southwestern university. Two knowledge instruments were administered throughout different stages of the simulation and four weeks later. Associations between role in simulation and scores on the knowledge instruments were examined using t-tests and mixed repeated measures-analysis of variance. Of the 59 active participants and 60 observers, there were no significant differences in knowledge demonstrated or retained after simulation, after debriefing, or four weeks later. Additionally, there were no significant differences in knowledge demonstrated when applied to a contextually similar case after debriefing or four weeks later between active participant and observer. Future research is needed to examine these relationships in larger and more diverse samples and different contextual clinical situations in simulation. These results will contribute to the further testing and implementation of using observation as a strategy for teaching and learning with simulation for nursing and health professions education.