THE IMPACT OF SIMULATION ON THE ACQUISITION OF CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS IN NURSING STUDENTS ENROLLED IN AN ASSOCIATE DEGREE PROGRAM

The need for nurses to care for the acutely ill is at a critical level. New graduates who care for these individuals must be adequately prepared. With optimal time for practice, they can master critical thinking and practical skills to efficiently and safely care for those in need. Adequate clinical opportunities for nursing students to learn and practice are becoming harder to secure. As enrollment in nursing programs increases, competition among nursing schools for clinical sites has increased. The ability to think critically is a valued skill when caring for complex patients. With limited availability of clinic space, nursing education has embraced the use of the Human Patient Simulator (HPS) to mimic similar conditions of actual patients and allow students a safe place to practice and improve critical thinking abilities. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the extent to which the use of the HPS affected the critical thinking ability of associate degree nursing students and what role previous experience in health care played. The results of this quantitative research design showed no statistically significant difference between previous experiences. There was also no statistically significant difference in preand posttest critical thinking scores related to a simulated learning activity.