Creating Simulated Reality. Building your technology/art toolbox. 2017 Northern

Preparing undergraduate nursing students for practice as new graduates can be a significant challenge within our current health care landscape. The shortage of quality clinical placements is compounded by a worsening nursing shortage, a nursing faculty shortage, increasingly acute patients, and competition for clinical placements. In addition, student exposure to the rapidly deteriorating patient is unpredictable at best in clinical settings. In this quasi-experimental study among undergraduate nursing students, a hybrid simulation intervention was explored to determine the impact on competence and confidence in the recognition and response to the deteriorating patient. The hybrid simulation approach consisted of a combination of high fidelity simulations and virtual simulations. Students in the treatment group attended two eight hour simulation days and had the opportunity to participate in six patient scenarios that included adults and paediatric patients. In addition, students completed two virtual simulation cases. Students in the control group attended clinical as usual with no additional simulation. The results of this study will be presented along with implications for practice, education and further research.