Utilizing Early Simulation to Increase Clinical Confidence in Novice Nursing Students

摘要

The purpose of this project was to determine if early simulation would increase the clinical confidence of novice nursing students. A convenience sample of 20 junior nursing students in their first semester of a baccalaureate nursing program within a small, rural university participated in the project prior to their first clinical experience. The students were administered the Confidence Scale as a pre-test prior to the early simulation experience which consisted of a scenario comparable to what the students would experience in the clinical setting. After the simulation, the primary investigator facilitated a debriefing exercise and then administered the Confidence Scale again as a post-test, as well as the Student Satisfaction and Self-Confidence in Learning Instrument to determine confidence levels after the simulation. A paired samples t test was performed to evaluate the change in confidence levels after the early simulation intervention. The results indicated that there was a statistically significant improvement in confidence scores after the simulation for each of the five questions on the Confidence Scale. The Student Satisfaction and Self-Confidence in Learning instrument results also demonstrated high levels of satisfaction and confidence after the early simulation experience. Linear regression was implemented to determine relationships between the demographic information and the changes in the pre-test and post-test confidence levels. A statistically significant relationship was found between the Confidence Scale question related to confidence in portraying competence in front of an observer and employment as a home health CNA. Another statistically significant relationship was found between the Confidence Scale question related to confidence in task performance and employment as a long term care CNA.