Prelicensure nursing students perspectives on video-assisted debriefing following high fidelity simulation : A qualitative study

Background Video-assisted debriefing has not attracted sufficient attention on exploring learners' perceptions. A full understanding of learners' attitudes and perceptions towards video-assisted debriefing sets the foundation for effective learning, which should be considered when integrating video-assisted debriefing to the nursing curricula. However, limited evidence on learners' perspectives makes it difficult to fully understand this phenomenon. Objectives To explore prelicensure nursing students' experiences and perspectives on video-assisted debriefing following a high-fidelity simulation. Design An exploratory qualitative approach using focus groups. Setting This study was conducted at a local university in Singapore. Participants A purposive sample of 27 prelicensure nursing students in Singapore were recruited. Methods Six focus group interviews were conducted. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the transcribed data. Results Three themes and eight subthemes were derived from the data analysis. The themes included journey from traditional verbal debriefing to video-assisted debriefing, praise and criticism of video-assisted debriefing, and the road to successful video-assisted debriefing. Conclusions Nursing students revealed that video-assisted debriefing not only complemented the drawback of verbal debriefing by offering objective evidence but also improved their attitudes and behaviors through the unique experience of an emotional roller coaster. Learners should be desensitized to the fear of video and their discriminating capabilities should be developed prior to video-assisted debriefing. The findings can serve as a reference when designing and integrating video-assisted debriefing interventions into simulation-based education.Funding Agencies|Centre for Development of Teaching and Learning, National University of Singapore [TEG 2017/2018]