Traditional Clinical Versus Simulation in 1st Semester Clinical Students: Students Perceptions After a 2nd Semester Clinical Rotation

BackgroundTraditional clinical experiences are being supplemented with high-fidelity simulation (HFS) in many nursing programs. The immediate and long-term impact on students' perception of clinical competence is not known.MethodSurveys were administered to 1st-year nursing students following their first-semester clinical experiences in either a traditional or an HFS setting. Differences between the two groups were compared by analysis of the results of a survey of perceived clinical competence. The comparison was made again for the cohorts following their second-semester hospital-based clinical experiences.ResultsSignificantly higher scores were reported by the HFS group initially, but this difference was less pronounced following second-semester hospital-based clinical experiences.ConclusionsStudents with first-semester HFS experiences had initial higher perceptions of competence. Further research is needed to demonstrate the short- and long-term impact of simulated experiences on perceived competence, as well as on clinical performance.