Bringing simulation to life

As the complexity and acuity of patients are ever increasing, the faculty at Kingsborough Community College struggled to assure that their students will be qualified to safely care for their patients when they graduate from the nursing program. Because opportunities often were not available in the clinical setting, simulation was introduced into the curriculum to meet these needs. Simulation is an ideal teaching strategy for high-risk/low-volume events in a safe environment. This article describes the implementation of simulation into the nursing curriculum with emphasis on critical thinking in the clinical setting as well as debriefing and reflection at the completion of the simulation.