In this paper, we briefly outline the many contributing factors to the nursing shortage and corresponding theory–practice gap. We then present initial research on addressing these shortfalls. In contrast to other treatments of this issue (e.g., Institute of Medicine [IOM], 2011), we specifically emphasize how advancements in medical simulation and its systematic integration could contribute to a solution. Additionally, we emphasize the importance of Human–Systems Integration processes for this course of action.
AdamsonK. (2010). Integrating human patient simulation into associate degree nursing curricula: Faculty experiences, barriers, and facilitators. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 6(3), e75-e81.
4.
AikenL. H.ClarkeS. P.CheungR. B.SloaneD. M.SilberJ. H. (2003). Educational levels of hospital nurses and surgical patient mortality. JAMA: the journal of the American Medical Association, 290(12), 1617-1623.
5.
AlinierG.HuntW. B.GordonR. (2004). Determining the value of simulation in nurse education: study design and initial results. Nurse education in practice, 4(3), 200-207.
6.
American Hospital Association (2008). The 2007 state of America’s hospitals: Taking the pulse.
7.
BaineD. P. (1990, March29). Access to medical care at overseas military hospitals. Testimony before the Subcommittee on Military Personnel and Compensation, Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives, United States Congress, Washington, DC.
8.
BarachP.SatishU.StreufertS. (2001). Healthcare assessment and performance using simulation. Simulation & Gaming, 32(2), 147-155.
9.
BennerP.TannerC.CheslaC. (Eds.). (1996). Expertise in Nursing Practice: Caring, Clinical Judgment, and Ethics. Springer Publishing Company.
10.
BeyeaS. C.von ReynL. K.SlatteryM. J. (2007). A nurse residency program for competency development using human patient simulation. Journal for Nurses in Staff Development, 23(2), 77.
11.
BeyeaS. C.KobokovichL. J. (2011). A Novel Nursing Residency Program Utilizing Human Patient Simulation.
12.
BlumR.RaemerD. B.CarrollJ. S.SunderN.FeinsteinD.CooperJ. B. (2004). Crises resource management training for anesthesia faculty: A new approach to continuing faculty education. Medical Education, 38(1), 45-55.
13.
BuerhausP. I.AuerbachD. I.StaigerD. O. (2009). The recent surge in nurse employment: Causes and implications. Health Affairs, 28(4), w657-w668.
14.
BuerhausP. I.StaigerD. O.AuerbachD. I. (2000). Why are shortages of hospital RNs concentrated in specialty care units?. Nursing economic$, 18(3), 111.
15.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor (2012). Employment Situation Summary (USDL-13-0144). Accessed 17 Feb 2013: www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
16.
BuxA. (2009). Nurses’ Perceptions of the Usefulness of High Fidelity Simulation Technology in a Clinical Education Program. (Doctoral Dissertation, University of Phoenix). Dissertation Abstracts International, 70, 05.
17.
CarayonP.GursesAP. (2008). Nursing Workload and Patient Safe-ty—A Human Factors Engineering Perspective. In: HughesR. (Ed.), Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses (pp. 1–14). Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
18.
CorlettJ.PalfreymanJ. W.StainesH. J.MarrH. (2003). Factors influencing theoretical knowledge and practical skill acquisition in student nurses: an empirical experiment. Nurse Education Today, 23(3), 183-190.
19.
CorlettJ. (2000). The perceptions of nurse teachers, student nurses and preceptors of the theory-practice gap in nurse education. Nurse education today, 20(6), 499-505.
20.
ElliottS.MurrellK.HarperP.StephensT.PelloweC. (2011). A comprehensive systematic review of the use of simulation in the continuing education and training of qualified medical, nursing and midwifery staff. The JBI Database of Systematic Reviews and Implementation Reports, 9(17), 538-587.
21.
FeingoldC. E.CalaluceM.KallenM. A. (2004). Computerized patient model and simulated clinical experiences: Evaluation with baccalaureate nursing students. Journal of Nursing Education, 43(4), 156-163.
22.
FinkelmanA. W.KennerC. (2009). Teaching IOM: Implications of the Institute of Medicine reports for nursing education. Amer Nurses Assn.
23.
ForbesM. O.HickeyM. T. (2009). Curriculum reform in baccalaureate nursing education: Review of the literature. International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship, 6(1), 1-16.
24.
FrieseC. R.LakeE. T.AikenL. H.SilberJ. H.SochalskiJ. (2008). Hospital nurse practice environments and outcomes for surgical oncology patients. Health services research, 43(4), 11451163.
25.
GabaD. M. (2004). The future vision of simulation in health care. Quality and Safety in Health Care, 13(suppl 1), i2-i10.
26.
GaholP. R. (2005). Attrition of army nurse corps officers: Looking at factors that affect retention and recruitment of army nurse corps officers. ARMY COMMAND AND GENERAL STAFF COLL FORT LEAVENWORTH KS.
27.
GordonJ. A.OriolN. E.CooperJ. B. (2004). Bringing good teaching cases” to life”: a simulator-based medical education service. Academic Medicine, 79(1), 23-27.
28.
Health Resources and Services Administration (2006). What is behind HRSA’s projected supply, demand, and shortage of registered nurses?Rockville, MD: United States Department of Health and Human Services.
29.
HolmboeE.RizzoloM. A.SachdevaA. K.RosenbergM.ZivA. (2011). Simulation-Based Assessment and the Regulation of Healthcare Professionals. Simulation in Healthcare, 6(7), S58S62.
30.
HotchkissM. A.MendozaS. N. (2001). AANA Journal course: Full-body patient simulation technology: Gaining experience using a malignant hyperthermia model. AANA Journal, 69(1), 59-65.
31.
HouseC. L. (2007). Army nurse officer retention: a qualitative examination of forces influencing the career longevity of army nurses (Doctoral dissertation, University of NC at Greensboro).
32.
HravnakM.BeachM.TuiteP. (2007). Simulator technology as a tool for education in cardiac care. Cardiovascular Nursing, 22(1), 16-24.
33.
HRSA (2010). The registered nurse population: Findings from the 2008 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses. Rockville, MD: HRSA.
JeffreysM. R. (2012). Nursing student retention: Understanding the process and making a difference. Springer Publishing Company.
36.
JepthaI. (2012). Throughput rate of nursing students in the Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences at a university of technology (Doctoral dissertation).
37.
JohannssonH.AyidaG.SadlerC. (2005). Faking it? Simulation in the training of obstetricians and gynaecologists. Current Opinion in Obstetrics and Gynecology, 17(6), 557-561.
38.
Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. (2005). Comprehensive accreditation manual for hospitals: the official handbook. Oakbrook Terrace, IL: JCAHO.
39.
JoyntJ.KimballB. (2008). Blowing Open the Bottleneck.
40.
JuraschekS. P.ZhangX.RanganathanV.LinV. W. (2012). United States registered nurse workforce report card and shortage forecast. American Journal of Medical Quality, 27(3), 241-249.
41.
KaneR. L.ShamliyanT.MuellerC.DuvalS.WiltT. J. (2007). Nurse staffing and quality of patient care.
42.
KevinJ. (2006). Problems in the supervision and assessment of student nurses: can clinical placement be improved?Contemporary Nurse, 22(1), 36-45.
43.
KneeboneR. L.NestelD.VincentC.DarziA. (2007). Complexity, risk and simulation in learning procedural skills. Medical education, 41(8), 808-814.
44.
KovnerC. T.DjukicM. (2009). The nursing career process from application through the first 2 years of employment. Journal of Professional Nursing, 25(4), 197-203.
45.
LandryM.OberleitnerM. G.LandryH.BorazjaniJ. G. (2006). Education and practice collaboration: Using simulation and virtual reality technology to assess continuing nurse competency in the long-term acute care setting. Journal for Nurses in Staff Development, 22(4), 163-169.
46.
LangdonM. G.CunninghamA. J. (2007). High-fidelity simulation in post-graduate training and assessment: An Irish perspective. Irish journal of medical science, 176(4), 267-271.
47.
MaranN. J.GlavinR. J. (2003). Low- to high-fidelity: A continuum of medical education?Medical Education, 37(1), 22-28.
48.
McCallumJ. (2007). The debate in favour of using simulation education in pre-registration adult nursing. Nurse Education Today, 27(8), 825.
49.
McCauslandL. L.CurranC. C.CataldiP. (2004). Use of a human simulator for undergraduate nurse education. International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship, 1(1), 1-17.
50.
McKinneyJ.CookD. A.WoodD.HatalaR. (2012). Simulation-Based Training for Cardiac Auscultation Skills: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 1-9.
51.
MorganP. J.Cleave-HoggD. (2005). Simulation technology in training students, residents and faculty. Current Opinion in Anesthesiology, 18(2), 199-203.
52.
MuramotoM. L.CampbellJ.SalazarZ. (2003). Provider training and education in disease management: Current and innovative technology. Disease Management & Health Outcomes, 11(10), 633-645.
53.
MurrayT. A. (2013). Innovations in Nursing Education: The State of the Art. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 3(4), 25-31.
54.
NeedlemanJ.BuerhausP.MattkeS.StewartM.ZelevinskyK. (2002). Nurse-staffing levels and the quality of care in hospitals. New England Journal of Medicine, 346(22), 1715-1722.
55.
NehringW. M.EllisW. E.LashleyF. R. (2001). Human patient simulators in nursing education: An overview. Simulation & Gaming, 32, 194-204.
56.
NehringW. M.LashleyF. R. (2009). Nursing simulation: A review of the past 40 years. Simulation & Gaming, 40(4), 528-552.
57.
O’NeilE.SeagoJ. A. (2002). Meeting the challenge of nursing and the nation’s health. JAMA: the journal of the American Medical Association, 288(16), 2040-2041.
58.
O’RourkeK. (2000). Job satisfaction among nurse staff in a military healthcare facility. Military Medicine, 165, 757-761.
59.
Orsolini-HainL.MaloneR. E. (2007). Examining the impending gap in clinical nursing expertise. Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice, 8(3), 158-169.
60.
PittV.PowisD.Levett-JonesT.HunterS. (2012). Factors influencing nursing students’ academic and clinical performance and attrition: An integrative literature review. Nurse Education Today.
61.
RobertsonS.CanaryC. W.OrrM.HerbergP.RutledgeD. N. (2010). Factors related to progression and graduation rates for RN-to-Bachelor of Science in Nursing programs: searching for realistic benchmarks. Journal of Professional Nursing, 26(2), 99-107.
62.
RochesterS.KellyM.DislerR.WhiteH.ForberJ.MatiukS. (2012). Providing simulation experiences for large cohorts of 1st year nursing students: Evaluating quality and impact. Collegian: Journal of the Royal College of Nursing Australia.
63.
RolfeG. (1994). Towards a new model of nursing research. Journal of advanced nursing, 19(5), 969.
64.
RudelR. J.MoultonP.ArnesonK. (2009). The shortage tsunami and high school guidance counselors’ perspectives on future nurse recruitment. Medsurg nursing: official journal of the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses, 18(6), 369.
65.
SeveringhausR. J. (2012, January). Simulation in Healthcare-What is holding us back? In The Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation & Education Conference (I/ITSEC) (Vol. 2012, No. 1). National Training Systems Association.
66.
ShapiroM. J.MoreyJ. C.SmallS. D.LangfordV.KaylorC. J.JagminasL.SunerS.SalisburyM. L.SimonR.JayG. D. (2004). Simulation based teamwork training for emergency department staff: does it improve clinical team performance when added to an existing didactic teamwork curriculum?Quality and Safety in Health Care, 13(6), 417-421.
67.
SharifF.MasoumiS. (2005). A qualitative study of nursing student experiences of clinical practice. BMC nursing, 4(1), 6.
68.
SpectorN. (2009). Approval: National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). In: CaputiL (ed). Teaching Nursing: The Art and Science. Vol 3. 2nd ed.Glen Ellyn, IL: College of DuPage Press.
69.
SteadmanR. H.HuangY. M. (2012). Simulation for quality assurance in training, credentialing and maintenance of certification. Best Practice & Research Clinical Anesthesiology, 26(1), 3-15.
70.
ToddF. (2011). Using Human Patient Simulation for Graduate Nurses. American Nurses Credentialing Center: Magnet Conference.
71.
UnruhL. Y.FottlerM. D. (2005). Projections and trends in RN supply: what do they tell us about the nursing shortage?Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice, 6(3), 171-182.
72.
van SchaikS. M.PlantJ.DianeS.TsangL.O’SullivanP. (2011). Interprofessional team training in pediatric resuscitation: a low-cost, in situ simulation program that enhances self-efficacy among participants. Clinical pediatrics, 50(9), 807-815.
73.
WalshD. (2005). Professional power and maternity care: The many faces of paternalism. British Journal of Midwifery, 13(11), 708.
74.
WeaverA. (2011). High-fidelity patient simulation in nursing education: An integrative review. Nursing Education Perspectives, 32(1), 37-40.
75.
WhiteB.ElliottK. (2011). Enhancing an Emergency Department Residency Program Through Simulation. Registry of Nursing Research Conference Abstracts.
76.
WilfordA.DoyleT. J. (2006). Integrating simulation training into the nursing curriculum. British Journal of Nursing, 15(17), 926-930.
77.
WongA. K. (2004). Full scale computer simulators in anesthesia training and evaluation. Canadian Journal of Anesthesia, 51(5), 455-464.
78.
YoungP. (2012). Evaluation of a Simulation-Based Registered Nurse Residency Program.
79.
YoungP.BurkeJ. (2010). Evaluation of a multidisciplinary, simulation-based hospital residency program. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 6(2), e45-e52.
