An at-home simulation to teach undergraduate nursing students the concept of medication adherence

Abstract

Medication adherence remains poor among most chronic illnesses, and the reasons for this are multi-factorial. Poor adherence negatively affects health outcomes, and nurses have a key role in educating clients, assessing for adherence, and identifying strategies to improve adherence to therapy. An at-home simulation was designed to help undergraduate nursing students have a deeper understanding of the factors that may prevent clients from taking their medications as prescribed. In this simulation all the students in class take simulated medications at home then discuss their experiences during a later class. Guidance is given for nurse educators to implement this activity, and challenges to implementation are discussed. After implementing this simulation, the class discussion has been richer and more detailed, likely due to the common and recent experience that all students had in taking the simulated medication.