Moving the Research Agenda Forward in Simulation-Based Research

Abstract

View Large Image Figure ViewerDownload Hi-res image Download (PPT) At the recent Sigma Theta Tau International/National League for Nursing Educator Research Conference in Washington, DC, a plenary speaker posited that educational research, including simulation-based research, must meet the rigor of clinical-based research. Researchers engaged in simulation-based research would be wise to heed this speaker's advice. At no other point in nursing education have we experienced such rigorous efforts to provide an evidence base across curricula to educate nursing professionals than we do now through simulation-based education. The time is ripe for simulation-based research to meet these challenges to create an evidence base for educational strategies across curricula for all levels of learners. Simulation research has moved beyond studies examining learner satisfaction, self-confidence, and self-efficacy. The current state of the science in simulation-based research calls for intervention studies that examine skill development and skill transfer, and higher order thinking from simulation to actual patient care settings to support positive health outcomes in patients. Currently, we now have mechanisms for conducting rigorous research that reflect a conceptual base, including strong interventional fidelity, and measurement instruments with demonstrated psychometric properties to assess study outcomes. These mechanisms include the current and upcoming International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning (INACSL) Standards of Best Practice for Simulation, methodology articles published in Clinical Simulation in Nursing and other simulation journals that have identified measurement instruments and theoretical frameworks to guide simulation-based studies. While nothing will replace the development and implementation of a study with logical congruence and a rigorous study design, the Research Committee of INACSL is one mechanism to support high-quality investigations. The purpose of the Research Committee was to support the INACSL membership through several mechanisms to advance the science of simulation-based research that include but are not limited to developing white papers, conducting member surveys, and guiding the Research Fellowship program. One of the Committee's charges for 2016-2017 is to update the research pages of the INACSL website and develop a link on the website for simulation research tools and evaluation instruments. This link will house a plethora of resources for researchers at all levels, including a repository for valid and reliable instruments that can be used with permission from their authors. The updated research page identifies all the committee members, chairs of the subcommittee, and the major responsibilities of the Committee. We hope the research tools and evaluation instruments page is informative to investigators to identify possible research tools and evaluation instruments for them to explore in more depth for possible use in simulation-based research. The research tools repository page is for INACSL members only. While the list is comprehensive and will be updated and maintained on a regular basis, the Research Committee strongly encourages researchers to search appropriate databases, such as the Health and Psychosocial Instruments database. Likewise, we have compiled this list as a beginning point for researchers; however, investigators need to examine the instruments for their applicability to a specific study. This includes if the instrument was developed with the same learners that will be in the proposed study and if not, pilot testing of the instrument will need to be conducted on this other population to demonstrate the validity and reliability for this population. Another important consideration is to examine for congruency match between what the instrument measures and the intended outcome(s) of a proposed study. The Research Committee welcomes new members and ideas for research webinars and speakers for those webinars and the development of research white papers as needed for the association. Please visit our website at www.inacsl.org (research link, under the “Learn” tab) for support on how the Committee can support high-quality studies and grant mechanisms for simulation research and opportunities to become involved in INACSL's efforts to advance the science and evidence-base in simulation.