Instructional Problems in Briefings: How to Prepare Nursing Students for Simulation-Based Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Training

BackgroundAn important condition for serving the educational objectives of simulation in nursing education is that the facilitator’s instructions during the briefing bridge the gap between the simulation and the real situation it simulates. This study aims to explicate instructional problems in the briefing, focusing both on how students understand that tasks should be performed in resuscitation teams and how these tasks should be adapted to the specific conditions of the simulation.MethodVideotaped data from 11 briefings were analyzed by means of interaction analysis. Analytical focus was put on the instructional problems that emerged during the briefings and how the facilitators made use of the students’ understandings to overcome these problems.Results and ConclusionThe findings reveal 3 types of tasks that were consistently problematic for all students to understand and master and that facilitators dealt with in every briefing: (a) taking the correct position, (b) keeping airways open, and (c) ventilating with a bag mask. To further improve simulation-based environments as tools for training crucial aspects of resuscitation teamwork, it is important that facilitators take into account how the briefing can bridge the gap between simulation and clinical practice. This can be achieved by systematically using not only the students’ claimed understanding but also their exhibited understanding for the correction of their performance. It is also concluded that simulation settings should not presuppose a higher level of skills than expected in nursing education since such a presupposition might interfere with opportunities to learn from simulation experiences.