Current Issues

Combination of immersive digital simulation environments has revolutionized graduate nursing education, especially in the area of critical care specialization. This was a randomized controlled study that investigated the relative efficacy of high fidelity virtual simulation to traditional case based seminars in improving clinical reasoning and procedure confidence in postgraduate nursing students. The number of participants that were randomized was 124 participants between the intervention and control groups in two academic institutions. The outcome measures were in the form of objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) scores, self-efficacy scores, and cognitive load measures. The students who went through the immersive simulation showed a much higher performance in OSCE and also in the accuracy of the diagnostic prioritization. Also, study participants noted increased involvement and ability to remember complex pathophysiological concepts. Although the level of cognitive load was higher among the intervention group initially, adaptive familiarity led to the reduction of this effect in the long term. The results indicate that digital simulation is a ground-breaking pedagogical technique that can support the gap between theoretical and high-stakes clinical skills. A statistically significant improvement of competency development and readiness to practice in advanced critical care may be achieved in institutions where a more technologically enhanced curricula is adopted. The research will add to solid empirical data in favor of the innovation-based change in graduate nursing education.