Signs of Maturity . . . Simulations Are Growing and Getting More Attention.

Abstract

Welcome to Part 2 of the Nursing Education Perspectives special issue on clinical simulation. Having a second collection of peer-reviewed research articles focused on clinical simulation is evidence of how quickly we are moving forward in the area of simulation research. As you read through the research and Innovation Center articles in this issue, you will see that we are obtaining more evidence, particularly in specialty areas. Simulation Guidelines as an Indication of Maturity Since the publication of Part 1 (Vol. 36, No. 5) two months ago, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) introduced the NCSBN Simulation Guidelines for Pre-Licensure Nursing Programs (Alexander et al., 2015). These important guidelines further increase simulation presence and expectations and indicate greater maturity in the pedagogical and research areas. They are based on evidence from a relatively large number of nursing studies that have analyzed outcomes of simulations in pre-licensure nursing programs. I had the opportunity to be part of the amazing panel of experts, nurse leaders of professional organizations, and board regulators who helped create the guidelines. I applaud the NCSBN for bringing us together. We have now a great number of systematic and integrative reviews providing support for simulation pedagogy and contributing to the guidelines created by the NCSBN expert panel. The guidelines provide assistance to: boards of nursing, to evaluate the readiness of pre-licensure programs to use simulations, particularly as substitutes for traditional clinical experiences, and nursing education programs, to help guide, direct, and facilitate an evidence-based program when simulations are integrated into pre-licensure nursing curricula. The guidelines are important. I call them critical considerations if your nursing curriculum will be incorporating simulations across the program. Not only did the NCSBN come out with overall simulation guidelines, but in the landmark document there is also a Faculty Preparation Checklist. Educators and researchers involved with simulations know it is crucial to have faculty prepared to develop, implement, and evaluate simulations within the program. Not too long ago, there were very few programs or venues where faculty could be trained in all the critical components of simulation implementation. Today, however, we now have more formalized development programs in addition to the programs to become a Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator (CHSE) as well as the advanced certification (CHSE-A), created and offered by the interprofessional, international Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH) (www.ssih.org). The Development of Standards and the Recently Published Simulation Theory The International Nursing Association of Clinical Simulation Learning (INACSL) organization has also contributed to the maturity of simulations by developing to advance the science of simulation, share best practices, and provide evidence-based guidelines for implementation and training. As the leaders of the INACSL organization declare, adoption of the Standards of Best Practice demonstrate[s] a commitment to quality and implementation of rigorous evidence-based practices in healthcare education to improve patient care by complying with practice standards (INACSL, 2015). Currently there are nine INACSL standards: terminology, professional integrity of participants, participant objectives, facilitation, facilitator, debriefing process, participant assessment and evaluation, simulation-enhanced interprofessional education, and simulation design. The recently published NLN Jeffries Simulation Theory (Jeffries, 2015), launched at the NLN Education Summit just a few months ago, contributes more to our growth, maturity, and sophistication in simulations. As we know, theoretical thinking is essential to developing nursing science and to our professional endeavors (Meleis, 2012). …