High-fidelity nursing simulation and the impact on self-confidence and clinical competence of senior nursing students

Expectations are high for the novice nurse to provide safe and competent care for patients. Nursing faculty are increasingly innovative with curriculum design to prepare entry-level nurses to meet the demands of the profession. Two factors that predict success in nursing practice are self-confidence and clinical competence (Blum, Borglund, & Parcells, 2010). This project is designed to examine the relationship between participation in high-fidelity simulation (HFS), self-confidence and clinical competence in clinical settings of senior nursing students. The target population will be senior nursing students enrolled in a Midwestern university Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. Evidence-based practices (EBP) will be applied to development of an HFS case scenario to enhance self-confidence and clinical competence. The theoretical framework for the project will be Tanner’s Clinical Judgment Model (Blum et al., 2010). Lasater’s Clinical Judgment Rubric (Blum et al., 2010), based on Tanner’s model, utilizes Likert-type scales to quantify faculty and student’s perceptions of self-confidence and clinical competence. Outcomes of this research will help nursing faculty better use HFS with senior students facilitating transition from student to confident, competent, novice nurses.