Is Clinical Scenario Simulation Teaching Effective in Cultivating the Competency of Nursing Students to Recognize and Assess the Risk of Pressure Ulcers?

Abstract

Yan-Li Du,1 Chun-Hua Ma,1 Yu-Feng Liao,1 Lu Wang,2 Ya Zhang,1 Geng Niu3 1School of Medical Technology and Nursing, Shenzhen Polytechnic, Shenzhen, 518055, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 2Delivery Center, Shenzhen Maternity & Child Healthcare Hospital, Shenzhen, 518028, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 3Shenzhen Elderly Healthcare College, Shenzhen Polytechnic, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518055, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Geng NiuShenzhen Elderly Healthcare College, Shenzhen Polytechnic, Shenzhen, 518055, Guangdong, People’s Republic of ChinaTel [phone]Fax [phone]Email [email protected]: To evaluate the effectiveness of a clinical scenario simulation method among nursing students for assessing the risk of patients developing pressure ulcers compared with the traditional didactic method.Methods: This experimental study was a controlled trial with single-blind assessments. Nursing students (n = 47) were randomly assigned to either a control or an experimental group. The control group (n = 21) was instructed using traditional didactic methods that only delivered knowledge of pressure ulcers, while the experimental group (n = 26) received a clinical scenario simulation-based method for cultivating the competence to assess the risk of pressure ulcers. Participants underwent pre- and post-intervention based on the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) comprising objective performance criteria. Data were analyzed using a t-test in the SPSS Statistics software program at a significance level of 0.05.Results: No significant differences were observed regarding age or the mean scores of the OSCE in pre-intervention between the two groups. Following the intervention, the mean score of the experimental group’s performance was higher (29.04 ± 6.00) compared with the control group (12.38 ± 4.15) (P = 0.000). There were statistical differences between the two groups. Nursing students in the clinical scenario simulation group performed significantly better in recognizing and assessing the risk of pressure ulcers.Conclusion: This study demonstrates that a clinical scenario simulation approach is more effective than employing the traditional didactic method for cultivating students’ assessment ability regarding pressure ulcers. This student-centered, clinical scenario simulation method can help to effectively develop students’ competency in recognizing and assessing the risk of pressure ulcers, thereby providing a solid foundation for their clinical practice towards enhanced patient safety.Keywords: pressure ulcer, clinical scenario simulation, didactic method, patient safety, competence, systematic assessment

Keywords

• pressure ulcer
• clinical scenario simulation
• didactic method
• patient safety
• competence
• systematic assessment