Results of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing National Simulation Survey: Part II

Abstract Background The purpose of this article is to report additional data gathered during the National Council of State Boards of Nursing 2010 nationwide simulation survey of 1,729 nursing programs in the United States. It serves as a companion article to the initial survey data reported by Hayden in 2010. Method All prelicensure nursing programs in the United States were mailed the survey; 62% of programs ( N = 1,060) receiving the survey responded. This article presents respondents' answers to an additional eight questions about a program's use of simulation and thoughts on various aspects of simulation, not reported in the first article. Results Standardized patients are used by slightly over a third of programs that responded. More than half of respondents required some scenarios for all students prior to graduation, with the majority of these required scenarios being medical–surgical in nature, followed by emergency and code scenarios. One third of respondents felt that communication and the organizational culture cannot be learned in simulation. Student evaluations were most frequently used to determine the quality of written scenarios, followed by faculty peer evaluations of scenario content. Programs would use more simulation except that faculty are not trained in its use and programs lack appropriate funding. Conclusion Simulation continues to be adopted in nursing programs, but there is a lack of funding for both faculty training and increased simulation use.