Effectiveness of clinical simulation on nursing student’s improving critical care knowledge: A pretest-posttest study

Aim. To evaluate the effectiveness of Human Patient Simulation method, as an additional method to theoretical lectures, on improving critical care knowledge of third course nursing students compared to only theoretical lectures. It was hypothesised that, the greater cognitive abilities used and trained around a specific subject, more strengthening of the subject contents is done by the students. Methods. A non-experimental pretest-post test study was carried out with a questionnaire created ad hoc. specifically for this study. Pretest questionnaire was administered after students received five weeks of theoretical lectures on critical care subjects. Post test was administered after students performed the theoretical classes and the simulation based learning activity on critical care subjects. Results. 60 nursing students of the Campus Docent Sant Joan de Déu, attending to critical care subjects, were enrolled in the study. The statistical analyses performed showed a significance of the intervention in the post-test: p value 0.01 and the students improved on average by 1 point after the intervention, passing from 11.94 in the pre-test to 12.94 in the post-test. Results of this study suggest that use of Human Patient Simulation method of zone two made a positive difference in nursing students’ ability to answer questions about critical care when there was need to apply their cognitives abilities. Conclusion. We evidenced that is crucial to direct cognitive resources appropriately toward each section of the simulation activity. Choosing the quantity and the kind of cognitive abilities that will be used by a specific group of students in a simulation activity, facilitators can upgrade the student knowledges and avoid impaired learning.