Simulation Gone Wild: SIM OUT

What happens when you throw out the simulation rules, add competition and a little chaos, and make it a game? You get nursing students who are actively engaged and excited about nursing. Educational games promote learning and enhance collaboration among students. They keep learning active and student centered in a nonthreatening environment.1 As nursing care becomes more complex, the intensity of nursing education also increases. Applying critical-thinking skills, using theoretical foundations, and learning complex psychomotor skills are challenging and often stressful for nursing students. In addition, the intensity of nursing programs can invoke performance anxiety in nursing students.2,3 When the teaching/learning process is perceived as fun, students’ stress and anxiety may be reduced. Furthermore, games have the potential to stimulate interest in learning.4 In an effort to decrease stress that nursing students often experience and provide some fun during learning, the concept of SIM OUT was created