Exploring Self-Efficacy and Stress of Senior Nursing Students who Participate in Progressive Simulation.

According to Bandura (1994), self-efficacy is defined as the belief in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required in managing prospective situations (quoted by Pajaras, 1996, p. 543). Self-efficacy has long been theorized to increase job retention and success after graduation from a nursing program. In this study, the researchers explored whether high fidelity simulation during the senior semester of nursing school increases perceived self-efficacy among nursing students. We also evaluated the impact of stress levels on perceived self-efficacy. The study surveyed 135 senior BSN students from both traditional and accelerated programs a Southeastern Tennessee University using 15 items modified from pre-validated general self-efficacy and stress scales in a 7-point Likert-like scale format. Results showed that high-fidelity simulation-based training increase perceived self-efficacy over time, with significant increases from pre-simulation scores to post capstone simulation experience scores. Stress levels were not correlated with self-efficacy in the study. The information gleaned from this study has implications for nursing education and post-graduation job retention. The results suggest that high-fidelity simulation-based education is an effective way to increase self-efficacy in senior nursing students. Significance and limitations of the results are discussed, along with suggestions for future research