Preparing for the COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Impact on a Nursing Simulation Curriculum

Background: This article describes one school's process to maintain their undergraduate nursing simulation program during campus closure and clinical placement suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: After the campus closure, faculty replaced clinical hours with simulation using virtual clinical education such as telehealth with standardized patients (SPs), virtual simulations using commercial products, and virtual faculty skills instruction. Results: Using virtual clinical education and SP-based telehealth simulations provided an alternative for 50% of the required direct patient care hours. Virtual simulation accounted for 18,403 clinical hours completed by 244 students. Conclusion: Preparation for emergencies that force campus and clinical site closures should include processes to provide virtual simulation and remote simulations with SPs to replace clinical hours. Planning for the impacts of COVID-19 on the operation of this school of nursing highlights the importance of having a detailed plan to address campus closure due to emergencies.

Automated summary

This article outlines a school's approach to maintaining their undergraduate nursing simulation program during campus closure and clinical placement suspension by utilizing virtual clinical education and remote simulations. The use of virtual simulations provided an alternative for 50% of required direct patient care hours, highlighting the importance of having detailed plans in place to address emergencies that lead to campus closures.