Simulation in Community Health Nursing: A Conceptual Approach

Simulation activities have proven to be a valuable resource for nursing education, providing students with the opportunity to practice physical assessment and technical skills. Most published simulation scenarios have focused on traditional medical specialties. However, there is a recent trend in which entry-level nurses are increasingly engaged outside the traditional acute care setting. To prepare student nurses for practice in a wide range of community-based environments, nursing programs might consider the use of simulated clinical experiences that focus on community health concepts. The proposed community health nursing simulation curriculum is organized through its relationship to community health themes: (a) care of individuals in the community; (b) care of aggregates in the community; (c) care of vulnerable populations in the community; and (d) health of communities. Within these themes, the clinical scenarios are based in typical community health settings, such as home health care, public health clinics, school health, occupational health, free or migrant clinics, and the community at large. Examples of scenarios for each theme are discussed, including proposed settings, skills, and concepts for each.