Innovations in virtual education for clinical and simulation learning

Abstract

The global impact of COVID-19 forced nursing education to provide an alternative for scheduled clinical experiences during the Spring and Fall of 2020. Many programs selected the pre-packaged, web-based solutions at the onset of the pandemic due to the uncertainty and recommendation of social distancing. Clinical and simulation faculty began to look for educational alternatives to provide meaningful learning experiences that more closely replicated clinical learning because students expressed displeasure with the asynchronous web-based options. This article outlines how an innovative partnership between clinical faculty, simulation faculty, and the Theatre Department modified an in-person simulation activity designed for groups of two students into a web-based "clinical" experience that included the assigned clinical faculty, eight nursing students, and one simulated patient. This active learning strategy was able to meet the course objectives, required little additional resources, and most importantly, underwent positive evaluation by the weary, screen-based learners.

Keywords: Clinical education; Mental health; Psychiatric nursing; Simulated participant; Simulated patient; Simulation; Standardized patient; Web-based education.