Let the Games Begin!

Simulation as a learning tool is a new and technologically sophisticated method of teaching nursing students.  Simulation gaming is a method that uses previous learning to react to a variety of different situations to promote deeper learning, while attempting to reach specified goals.  Students compete against one another for scores while attempting to respond to the scenarios is the best possible way.  One of the best accolades of this method is the fact that in a simulation, a patient cannot be put at risk, so the nursing students are encouraged to try many different responses to find the best solution.

There has been much debate about whether simulation games are truly educational at the levels of higher education, or just entertainment.  But with the increase in experiential learning, traditional methods of nursing education have been challenged and methods that can incorporate students coming together to problem solve, and include reflection (oh no, more reflection!) on the experience are worthwhile methods of learning in nursing education.  Although it has been my Achilles heal, reflection does play an important part in nursing education today.  Without reflection of the players, the game is not education, just a "dog-eat-dog" method of getting a result.  Reflection brings in the aspects of adult education, for example in allowing the learner to create their own meaning through interaction with an environment.  The reflection of the students on the activity and the critical feedback that is given by the facilitator of the simulation game is essential for the student to develop and grow their knowledge base, skills and attitudes. 

There are some downfalls to simulation gaming.  It is difficult to discern the individual student's knowledge as most of the time simulation is a group activity.  Debriefing allows the most meaningful impact to the students, but staff must be skilled in debriefing the exercise in order for it to be effective.  There is also a concern that simulation gaming is an expensive undertaking:  simulation equipment and set up is expensive and maintenance of the technology requires staff with skills in programing and game codes to maintain different scenarios, which can also be expensive.  But these obstacles can be overcome to provide a simulation that allows the students to use this technology effectively.

So, overall simulation gaming is a method of learning that is highly interactive, with students gaining knowledge through different situational interactions and by debriefing these situations with a facilitator.  It is my hope that these virtual reality scenarios don't allow the students to "depersonalize" their actual care that their patients receive - after all, caring is one of the hallmarks of nursing. 

Peddle, M. (2011). Simulation gaming in nurse education; entertainment or learning? Nurse    Education Today 31, 647-649.