Transitioning Undergraduate Maternal-Newborn and Pediatric Hospital Clinical Experience to Immersive Simulation-Based Education

Abstract

BackgroundNursing education has undergone restructuring in clinical and academic settings. Challenges facing nursing programs and academic educators include limited and varied clinical experiences in maternal-newborn and pediatric settings, contributing to low national benchmark exam scores. SampleSix student cohorts enrolled in a traditional undergraduate nursing program in the United States (n = 640) participated, including three pre-transition (n = 282) and three post-transition (n = 358) cohorts. MethodThis study compared outcomes of transitioning from maternal-newborn and pediatric clinical experiences in the traditional clinical practice setting to immersive simulation-based education utilizing modalities of virtual simulation and evidence-based simulation activities. ResultsComparisons of pre-transition to post-transition exam scores identified a significant increase post-transition (p < .0001, maternal-newborn range 4.9041-7.2637; pediatric range 3.2887-5.5949, 95% Confidence Interval). ConclusionComparisons of pre- and post-transition national benchmark exam scores identified preliminary evidence that replacement of hospital clinical experiences with simulation-based education is effective.