The experiences of students as nurses and patients in simulated nursing practice

Challenges in nursing, including an ageing population with increasingly complex health needs, an aging and decreasing global nursing workforce, and depressed government budgets, impact on the quality and availability of nursing students’ clinical placements as part of their education. Development and implementation of innovative activities are essential to ensure that students are both personally and professionally prepared for nursing practice. Simulation is an educational strategy adopted in nursing education to promote the safety and competence of nurses entering the clinical environment, and it offers a response to the problems around clinical placement. The current study investigated the simulated nursing practice activity of students in their first year of nursing education. The aims of this study were to explore and describe the experiences of students as nurses and patients in role play simulation and to develop a substantive theory through which to understand these experiences; to influence national simulation standards, policies, and guidelines; and to impact on the development of role play simulation activities for students in undergraduate nursing institutions. The research design adopted a grounded theory approach: incorporating the core elements of grounded theory, which frame all steps in the study. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews through a purposive sample of 16 students in a New Zealand nursing institution. Findings emerging from the data revealed a substantive theory, connection in simulated nursing practice, consisting of the central category, connection, and its four principal categories: 1. discovering connections, 2. connecting with peers, 3.