Telehealth Standardized Patient Simulations and Nurse Practitioner Students’ Self-Confidence and Satisfaction Levels

Background: Telehealth accounts for 22.9% of primary care visits, increasing healthcare accessibility and affordability. Nurse practitioners (NPs) have noted technological and patient interaction-based differences between telehealth and in-person patient encounters. Healthcare organizations expect newly graduated NPs to use telehealth upon graduation. Problem: Integration of formalized, telehealth-focused education in NP programs is lacking, decreasing telehealth preparation and use among new graduate NPs. Methods: A quality improvement project was conducted. Participants were a convenience sample of Doctor of Nursing Practice/Family Nurse Practitioner students enrolled in an advanced NP pediatrics course at a private, liberal arts university in central Pennsylvania. The National League for Nursing Student Satisfaction and Self-Confidence in Learning © (NLN SCLS) instrument was used to collect data. Intervention: Two telehealth standardized patient (SP) simulations were integrated into the 6th and 12th weeks of a 16-week advanced NP pediatrics course. Results: Project limitations prevented analysis of statistical and clinical significance. However, findings were consistent with current literature. Participants’ NLN SCLS © instrument scores demonstrated high levels of confidence and satisfaction after each simulation. Following the second simulation, participants reported an increased likelihood to use telehealth after graduation. Conclusion: The telehealth SP simulations were positive learning experiences for participants. Thus, the project site intends to continue use of the intervention, providing the framework for longitudinal data collection measuring site-specific effects of telehealth SP simulation integration