Nursing Simulation Fellowships: An Innovative Approach for Developing Simulation Leaders

• We designed and implemented a 1-year nursing simulation fellowship aimed at simulation expertise and leadership development.
• The fellowship curriculum focused on seven key domains in simulation expertise and leadership.
• Deliverable outcomes of the fellowship had positive impact for the stakeholders and development of the fellow.
• Nursing simulation fellowships can be considered a viable option for simulation nurse leader development.

BackgroundIncreasingly, nurse educators with expert simulation knowledge and strong leadership skills are needed to lead simulation program implementation and faculty development efforts. The skills necessary for simulation leadership are not all innate but need to be developed and nurtured. Nursing simulation fellowships aimed at developing expert simulation knowledge and leadership skills can be a viable pathway for developing simulation leaders to fill these roles.MethodWe developed a one-year long immersive nursing fellowship as a solution to meet the challenge. The program's structure includes four overall objectives and seven modules with specific learning activities aimed at developing simulation expertise and leadership skills.ResultIn a one-year period, the nursing fellow targeted nursing quality and patient safety by developing and implementing sustainable simulation-based programs, faculty development programs, and scholarly projects.ConclusionNursing simulation fellowships provide a longitudinal guided experience for simulation expertise and leadership skill development. This approach can be a viable solution to meet the growing challenges in implementing simulation programs. This article provides a case exemplar for an innovative approach to developing simulation nurse leaders. Supporting theoretical frameworks, curriculum structure, outcome measures, and challenges are discussed.