Evidence-Based Nursing Education: Effective Use of Instructional Design and Simulated Learning Environments to Enhance Knowledge Transfer in Undergraduate Nursing Students

Much confidence has been placed in the nursing profession's potential to positively impact the U.S. health care system. However, concerns about patient safety and quality beckon health care providers to reassess traditional practices. Professional nursing programs aim to prepare novice nurses with strong clinical skills to effectively and safely care for patients. Faculty shortages and fewer clinical sites for students present challenges to faculty. Limited exposure in the clinical practice setting hinders the development of intuition. In addition, new graduates often enter practice with an unclear understanding of their role at the bedside. Educators are challenged to find innovative teaching strategies to effectively prepare new graduates for entering the workforce. Simulation has been shown to be a valuable teaching–learning strategy. Using an instructional design model that is student centered as the basis for simulation activities in an undergraduate curriculum is one method to effectively provide much needed clinical experience in a safe learning environment. This article details the application of the ADDIE (analysis, design, development, implementation, evaluation) model of instructional design to the use of simulation in nursing education in an effort to facilitate improved clinical performance in new graduate nurses.