Online platform utilised during COVID can boost teaching toolkit

When COVID-19 lockdowns prevented learners attending universities, alternatives to simulation-based education (SBE) had to be found to deliver emergency remote teaching. At Northumbria University, the use of an online platform enabled scenarios to be embedded in a virtual ward, with learners guided through patient assessment stages that would have been explored ordinarily in small groups during high-fidelity simulation.

Simulation bridges nursing practice and theory, and is recognised as a pedagogy that enables authentic learning about situations that may occur in the practice environment. It has been defined as ‘a technique that … allow[s] persons to experience a representation of a real event for the purpose of practice, learning, evaluation, testing or to gain understanding of systems or human actions’ (Lioce, 2020:44). Within nursing, it enables students to practise core skills such as communication, SBAR handover (situation, background, assessment, recommendation) and ABCDE assessment (airway, breathing, circulation, disability and exposure). SBE allows for the exploration of unusual cases or never events that learners are unlikely to encounter in the practice environment, enhancing readiness to practise.