Assessment of Nursing Care Using Simulation - Essay Example

Running head: Assessment of Nursing Care Using Simulation Introduction Simulation is the use of an act in a bid to explain the aspects of another different act by means of representation emulation and imitation. In nursing and other health care professions simulation can be used to perform four major functions which include training/education, assessing to trainees, researching various phenomena in the field, and finally for the facilitation of a safe environment for patients or clients. In nursing these functions are achieved through a combined application aspects of role playing, use of low and high technology equipment, and application of real field work activities. The literature available concerning simulation in nursing is mostly inclined towards simulation done for the purpose of education. Literature on simulation in the nursing field done for the purpose of assessment and evaluation of the nursing students is very limited. This paper therefore tries to shed some light on how simulation in nursing can be used in the assessment of student nurses. Peer-reviewed Articles and Simulation Application in Assessment Researches in the recent past have shown that a high percentage of student nurses graduate from college with a technique of critical thinking that can be termed as below average. This is due to the fact that student nurses in the learning process are only given one or two patients to practice with. This greatly undermines the nurses’ capability to establish a sound professional judgment in the clinical domain. Todd et al. (2008) developed a tool that was validated as a simulation evaluator. This tool was used to assess the competence of nurses who had different numbers of patients assigned to them during their learning period. The results got after using this tool were that the competence of the nurses was better with every addition two or four patients assigned to the nurses (Frontiero & Glynn, 2012). With the emergence of such tools and researches, the need for using simulation in nursing for assessment was increasingly becoming popular. The question was how it would be used for assessment rather than for education and training. Below is a detailed explanation the students’ competencies that simulations can evaluate and how the evaluation and assessment would be carried out. The first competence that simulations in nursing can assess is the communication skills of the nursing students. Good communication skills are a vital quality that should be possessed by every nurse who claims to be professional. Simulation can be used to track the improvements made by nurses with regard to communication skills because according to Gaba (2004), simulation is also a tool that improves the students communication skills. Gaba’s sentiments were seconded by some recent researches done by Kameg et al. (2010). If simulations can be used to improve the communication skills of the student nurses, then they sure can be structured to also assess every individual nurses’ communication skills and any improvement they might portray over their learning period. Simulation used in this manner can be an important tool for nurses’ assessment. It is important to note that assessment can also be made by the students who may want to evaluate their communication skills and their progress over time by tracking their performance in various simulated tests. After assessing themselves, the students can get a grasp of what they need to work on so as to improve on their communication skills. Simulation can also be used to assess the nursing skills of a nursing student. Simulation in the nursing field started with an objective of instilling psychomotor techniques into aspiring nurses but later broadened its boundaries to incorporate the use of skills in certain nursing related areas. Simulation gives the assessment crew a chance to evaluate the nursing students on how they would handle a real scenario similar to the one represented in the simulation. The students’ reaction to the simulation enables the assessment crew to gauge their strengths and weaknesses. In addition, they are also able to evaluate the students’ reaction to their weaknesses and what they are doing to improve on their strengths. What makes simulations a good way of assessing students’ nursing skills is the fact that in case the nursing students mess up in the process they don’t put the life of any patient in danger. The students also benefit of this because they are also able to assess themselves according to how they perform in the simulation process and the remarks they are given by their assessors. The students can also independently evaluate their nursing skills progress depending on how they perform in various simulation processes. Regular practice of the nursing skills plays a great role in shaping them to produce a remarkable nursing performance. A student who performs regular practice of the nursing skills will display a magnificent sense of confidence in a real medical set up. Another competence simulation can be used assess is the students ability to apply the theoretical skills acquired in the classroom in a real life scenario. Here the nurse students’ comprehension of the classroom discussions is put to test. Most of what nursing students know is attained from classroom lectures. However, in class the lecturers have little ability to assess the students’ comprehension of the material they are presenting but with the help of simulation procedures the lecturers can evaluate each and every individual’s level of comprehension of the material taught. Sometimes students might possess the ability to understand the material being taught in class but when the time to apply the knowledge comes the students slacken up. Assessment based on simulation helps teachers identify such students and perhaps come up with ways to help the students build confidence to put into action what they are so good at in the classroom. In a student’s perspective, simulation can be used to help assess one’s ability to understand the material taught in class. Afterwards the students can come up with ways to improve on their understanding skills like changing their learning style or pleading with the teachers to adopt a teaching style that will suit and complement the learning styles. In studies conducted, students have been found to establish a better comprehension of the material taught in class by engaging in simulation procedures. This is because after assessment and evaluation, the nurse students get feedback that enable them get a vivid and reinforced picture of how they show apply the knowledge they obtain in the classroom Simulation also plays a great role in the assessment of nursing students’ critical thinking ability. Critical analysis of knowledge is one of the key aspects of critical thinking. In simulation procedures unlike classroom teaching, students think around a situation in a manner that is spontaneous. This happens particularly because in simulation the nurse students do not rely on their teachers’ instructions but on their acquired knowledge and borrowing some wisdom from their wits. Consequently the students will have to make independent choices and risks and it is the choices and risks they make that enables the assessment crew to evaluate their ability to think critically. Simulation also helps in the assessment of the students nurses’ ability to work in a team. Nursing requires a great investment of team spirit in their day to day activities in order to solve problems. How the student nurses work together in simulation enables the assessment crew to evaluate the students’ ability to engage in teamwork. Conclusion From the above discussion it is evident that simulation is not only resourceful in the education process of nurses but also in their assessment. These are only just but a few ways in which simulation can be used to assess student nurses. There exist many more ways. Previous studies have proven that it assessment based on simulation is possible and accurate thus should be incorporated in every nurse training institution as a means of assessing the students. Further research should also be invested to perfect the use simulation to assess nurse students. References Frontiero, L. & Glynn, P. (2012). Evaluation of Senior Nursing Students’ Performance With High Fidelity Simulation. Online Journal of Nursing Informatics, Vol. 16 (3), 344-566 Gaba, D. M. (2004). The future vision of simulation in health care. Quality & Safety in Health Care,Vol. 4(2), 33-78 Kameg, K., Howard, V. M., Clochesy, J. M. Mitchell, A. M. & Suresky, J. M. (2010). The impact of high fidelity human simulation on self-efficacy of communication skills. Issues In Mental Health Nursing, Vol. 3 (5), 45-101 Todd, M., Manz, J., Hawkins, K., Parsons, M. & Hercinger, M.  (2008).  The development of a quantitative evaluation tool for simulations in nursing education.  International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship, Vol. 23 (2), 18-25 Read More