The involvement of students as simulated patients in a ward management exercise

This paper discusses the experience of planning and implementing a clinical simulation session, from the perspective of students and lecturers. The aim of the simulation exercise was to prepare students for coping with clinical decision making associated with caring for a group of patients. Students were in year three of a Pre-registration Nursing Honours Degree programme. Preparation of nurses who are fit for practice has been the subject of scrutiny for some time. Most recently the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) publication, Nursing: Towards 2015 (NMC 2007) and the recent pre-registration review of nursing education (NMC, 2008), highlight the national shortage of clinical placements for undergraduate pre-registration nursing students. Consequently an opportunity has been created to increase simulated practice hours as the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) indicate that practice hours for pre-registration nursing students can be undertaken in a simulated practice environment (NMC Circular 36/2007). Thus, there is an imperative to increase clinical simulation time within undergraduate nursing education as well as the opportunity develop creative clinical skills education to augment other aspects of the curriculum.