Reversible causes of cardiac arrest: Nursing competency acquisition and clinical simulation satisfaction in undergraduate nursing students

Abstract

Background: It is essential to determine and treat the reversible causes of cardiac arrest, so emergency nurses must acquire the competencies needed for its adequate management.

Method: 106 undergraduate nursing students participated in a cross-sectional study, using a mixed-method. Simulated scenarios recreated critically ill patients with diagnoses of potentially reversible causes of cardiac arrest in an emergency room. An internally validated questionnaire was used to analyse students' satisfaction and perceptions about clinical simulation sessions. Nursing competencies were assessed using a verification list. Data were analysed using the IBM SPSS Statistics version 24.0 (quantitative data) and ATLAS-ti version 8.0 (qualitative data) software.

Results: Nursing students expressed a high level of satisfaction (most of the scores obtained were higher than 90%) and positive perceptions about clinical simulation sessions. Most of the students (85.6%) acquired the necessary nursing competencies for adequate management of the reversible causes of cardiac arrest.

Conclusion: Clinical simulation methodology is a useful tool for the learning process and acquisition of nursing competencies related to emergency situations management. This methodology prepares nursing students for their clinical placements and future careers in emergency care. Therefore, it is recommended to extend clinical simulation training to emergency qualified nursing staff and advanced practitioners.

Keywords: Cardiac arrest; Clinical competence; Clinical simulation; Emergency Care; High Fidelity Simulation Training; Learning; Life support care; Nursing education; Nursing students.