The nursing workforce continues to face staff shortages, which continues to be worsened by various challenges across the globe. One major issue stems from the aging population, with the requirement for more healthcare and caretaking. The other issue in regards to an aging population is the nursing workforce itself, which has a large proportion of nurses nearing retirement. This article by Melissa Tully, BSN, MHPE, RN-BC will discuss how healthcare simulation has been proven over time to assist with the development of nurse workforce development.
An aging nursing workforce, coupled with the loss of nursing expertise and high turnover rates which has been increased by burnout and job dissatisfaction, continues to exacerbate the problem. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased staff shortages and has worsened nurses stress, fatigue, and mental health issues. Geographic disparities complicate matters, as rural and underserved areas struggle more to recruit and retain nurses. The demand for healthcare services outpaces the supply of qualified nursing professionals, requiring urgent changes to workforce planning, education, and support systems.
With advancements in medical technology, artificial intelligence, remote patient monitors, and increasingly complex healthcare protocols, nurses must possess the skills and knowledge to navigate high-pressure clinical environments. Nurse orientation and education programs have become essential to ready nurses for the workplace. Healthcare simulation-based education has emerged as a cornerstone of these programs, offering a safe and effective platform for experiential learning.
Address the Challenges of Nursing Workforce Development
Traditional nurse orientation programs rely heavily on lectures, computer-based courses, and videos, offering limited hands-on clinical exposure. Many hospitals and organizations depend on video-based and broad, non-individualized approaches. Apprenticeship models for development and onboarding also face resource limitations in the availability of nurse preceptors for instruction. While necessary, these methods often fail to provide new hires with enough opportunities to apply knowledge and skills in real-world scenarios. The gap between theory and practice has become a focal concern, especially as healthcare grows more fast-paced and error-prone.
High turnover rates among nurses highlight the need for effective development and orientation programs. Research from the Journal of Nursing Management indicates that 30-50% of newly graduated nurses leave their first job within two years, and the three-year nurse retention rate remains at only 18%. Many departures occur because nurses feel unprepared and unsupported to face workplace challenges. Orientation and upskill programs must address this issue by offering robust, immersive educational experiences that boost nurses’ confidence and competence.
Enhance Clinical Skills and Critical Thinking
Healthcare simulation-based education prepares nurses for the unpredictable and dynamic nature of clinical care. Nursing simulation creates an environment where learners can develop and refine their clinical skills in a controlled setting, free from the risk of errors that harm patients. Through repeated practice of various scenarios, nurses gain experience and expertise.
High-fidelity clinical simulations challenge nurses to communicate effectively, think critically, and act quickly while reflecting on their decision processes. Research in the Journal of Nursing Education found that nurses who participated in clinical simulation-based orientation programs exhibited significantly higher levels of critical thinking and problem-solving abilities compared to those who underwent traditional orientation.
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Nurses perform a variety of hands-on skills. The controlled environment of augmented or virtual reality simulation enables the safe practice of technical skills, such as wound care or medical equipment use. Repeated practice with actual equipment is also critical to medical device safety. Furthermore, a simulated electronic health record in these environments can lead to proficiency and confidence. This opportunity to practice can reduce the risk of errors in real clinical scenarios.
Promotion of Teamwork and Communication
Effective teamwork and communication stand as vital components of safe, efficient healthcare delivery from any clinical discipline. Miscommunication and a lack of collaboration among healthcare professionals often leads to serious errors, patient harm, and reduced clinical care quality. Healthcare simulation orientation programs give nurses the chance to practice and refine their interpersonal and teamwork skills and also reflect on this performance in debrief.
Clinical simulation often involves interprofessional teams and replicates the collaborative nature of real clinical environments. Nurses learn to communicate effectively with physicians, respiratory therapists, and other healthcare team members. Nurses also practice essential soft skills such as: leadership, delegation, and conflict resolution. These skills are all crucial for the maintenance of a safe and productive healthcare environment.
A study in Nurse Educator highlighted that clinical simulation based education significantly improves communication and teamwork among nurse teams. Nurses who participated in clinical simulation designed to enhance communication advocated better for patients, escalated concerns, and collaborated effectively with colleagues. These improved skills contribute to improved patient safety and clinical care outcomes.
Reduction of Errors and Improving Patient Safety
The relationship between clinical simulation and patient safety remains well-documented. The exposure of nurses to a wide range of scenarios in a clinical simulated environment means that nurses practice the response to critical incidents without risk of patient harm. This experiential learning approach proves crucial in the prevention of medical errors, a top cause of death in the United States. The National Academy of Medicine reports that medical errors account for approximately 100,000 preventable deaths each year.
Healthcare simulation in nurse orientation tackles this issue by allowance of nurses to practice error prevention strategies before provision of care to a real patient. Scenarios may include recognition of medication errors, prevention of patient falls, or management of a patient who has deteriorated. To practice these skills repeatedly, means that nurses develop an aptitude for identification of risks and intervention before adverse outcomes occur.
Healthcare simulation provides a platform for nurses to learn from mistakes in a low-stakes environment. Debrief sessions that follow clinical simulation exercises, allow learners to reflect on their actions and explore alternative approaches. There is also the opportunity to gain insights from peers and instructors. Clinical simulation followed by reflective practice promotes continuous education and improvement and seeks to maintain high patient safety standards.
Tailor Orientation to Specific Care Environments
One of healthcare simulation orientation’s key advantages lies in the flexibility. Healthcare simulation can be tailored to the unique needs of specific healthcare environments, such as critical care units, emergency departments, or long-term care facilities. Customization allows new nurses to experience scenarios they will likely encounter in their specific clinical practice.
For example, nurses entering pediatric units may engage in clinical simulations that involve a critically ill child, while those in long-term care may focus on management of chronic healthcare conditions. Another example is the use of clinical simulation in the education of complex communication skills and patient education. This targeted approach ensures that nurses feel prepared for the specific demands of their roles and enhances their ability to provide quality care from the start.
This article has discussed how healthcare simulation has become an indispensable tool in nurse orientation and education programs. Healthcare simulation has been proven to create a realistic environment to practice clinical skills, enhancement of critical thinking, promotion of teamwork, and improvement of patient safety. Clinical simulation prepares nurses for real-world challenges. As healthcare evolves, clinical simulation and education will also evolve. Highly immersive and realistic nurse simulation remains essential for the development of competent, confident nurses. Investment into clinical simulation-based education programs benefits organizations by improvement of patient outcomes and reduction in clinical errors, which makes clinical simulation vital for nurse education and practice.
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References
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2021. The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25982.
- Nursing Outlook. (2022). Nurse burnout and turnover post-pandemic: A national study. Nursing Outlook, 70(5), 623-635. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2022.06.002
