Can simulation be used to develop professional behaviours amongst nursing students?

The development of professional behaviours such as time management amongst nursing students is essential for preparing them for the realities for working in a dynamic, pressured clinical environment whilst on placement. Possessing such skills are thought to establish resilient coping mechanisms of nursing students and thereby lessen the theory-practice gap and reality shock experienced during placement. Traditionally, nursing students learn about professional skills in theory-based subjects. Due to the nature of this delivery, core concepts are often discussed abstractly and consequently many students misjudge the importance of developing and refining these professional behaviours prior to graduating. One way to address this shortfall is arguably via simulation. Simulation is gaining popularity as an effective teaching and learning strategy in nursing education. The literature surrounding the use of simulation currently supports its use for psychomotor skill development and for preparing students for rare or infrequent events. However, little evidence exists for whether simulation can fully capture the complexity of everyday nursing care including the incorporation of professional behaviours. The findings of a study examining first year nursing students' opinions on weekly simulation workshops provide a unique understanding of how students view their development of professional behaviours. This study incorporated an unfolding case study where students were required to work in teams to deliver increasingly complex episodes of care over a period of 10 weeks. In order to fulfil these episodes of care, the students needed to surreptitiously develop professional behaviours such as teamwork, delegation and prioritisation. Whilst the development of these behaviours was not the primary goal of the simulation, the majority of students identified that practising such professional behaviours was the most beneficial aspect of their learning. These findings suggest simulation can be used to foster professional behaviours amongst nursing students in order to produce a graduate that is work-ready