Evaluation of nursing process competencies, nursing quality, and patient safety using virtual simulation with debriefing: A quasi-experimental study

Virya Koy; Sunida Preechawong; Jintana Yunibhand; Andrew Rauth; Nicholas Bircher; Manila Prak; Richard Henker

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e20341

Evaluation of nursing process competencies, nursing quality, and patient safety using virtual simulation with debriefing: A quasi-experimental study

Heliyon. 2023 Sep 21;9(10):e20341. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e20341. eCollection 2023 Oct.

Authors

Virya Koy^{1

2}, Sunida Preechawong¹, Jintana Yunibhand¹, Andrew Rauth³, Nicholas Bircher³, Manila Prak⁴, Richard Henker³

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Nursing, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand.
² Department of Hospital Services, Ministry of Health, Cambodia.
³ School of Nursing, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
⁴ FHI 360, Cambodia.

Abstract

Background: Investing in clinical education is important for adult urgent and emergency surgery and traumatology as it promotes registered nurses' competencies by providing professional development training to respond to urgent or emergency surgeries.

Objective: To examine registered nurses' self-assessment of the effects of virtual video simulation with an immediate debriefing approach on nursing process competencies, nursing care quality, incomplete care, and patient safety in surgical units.

Methods: This study used a quasi-experimental two-group pre- and post-test design. The study was conducted at two provincial hospitals in Cambodia. Participants included registered nurses employed in surgical units. The experimental group (n = 46) completed a virtual video simulation and immediate debriefing. The control group (n = 35) completed virtual training on the nursing process. Data were collected two months after a successful second-week follow-up using Competency of Nursing Process, Cambodian Nursing Care Quality, Care Left Undone, and Patient Safety scales. Wilcoxon signed-rank test and Mann-Whitney U test were used to evaluate the differences before and after the sessions. Generalized linear model was used to compare the differences between the two groups.

Results: The results showed statistically significant improvements in the experimental group on competency, nursing care quality, patient safety, and reducing care left undone after the intervention. However, the control group revealed statistically insignificant differences. In addition, the experimental group provided positive feedback, such as experiencing a real patient scenario, developing critical-thinking, improving communication skills, and having an opportunity to ask questions.

Conclusion: Our study showed that VVS and immediate debriefing have the potential to support in-service training of RNs from diverse backgrounds. Particularly, integrating virtual video simulation and immediate debriefing may to promote competency in the nursing process and improve care outcomes.

Keywords: Competency of nursing process; Debriefing; Nursing care quality; Patient safety; Registered nurses; Virtual video simulation.