What It's like to be Poor: Teaching RN-to-BSN Students about Poverty

Abstract

Because simulation in nursing school is used to allow nursing students a safe place to practice skills, it may not be widely used with RN-to-BSN students who are already registered nurses but are returning to school to earn their Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees. But what if the simulation was presented differently, and the students were not the practitioners, but the recipients of services? RN-to-BSN students in a combined face-to-face and online program at a public research university in the Southeastern United States participated in a Community Action Poverty Simulation to better understand what people in poverty go through on a daily basis, hopefully helping these practicing nurses see beyond the bedside when providing patient care. This article describes the use of simulation with RN-to-BSN students to experientially introduce them to the concepts of poverty, social determinants of health, and vulnerable populations.