Redefining Health-Care Simulation Facilitator Professional Development through Online Learning

Abstract

Competition for nursing clinical sites has intensified as universities have increased enrollment to meet the growing demand for nurses. Hospital mandates have reduced opportunities for nursing students to practice clinical skills, leading nursing programs to use simulation to help learners gain the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed for transition to clinical practice. Simulation offers a safe learning environment and a guarantee that every student will have experience with critical clinical encounters. To be effective, health-care simulation must be facilitated by trained educators knowledgeable in simulation pedagogy, including theory-based simulation frameworks and debriefing models. Training simulation facilitators is often challenged by financial and time constraints. The need for an easily accessible, asynchronous, cost-effective method of providing foundational simulation training led a group of experienced simulationists to develop a series of seven online educational modules grounded in simulation best practices.