Authors

  1. Prodoehl-Caniano, Deborah DNP, RN, CEN, PCMH-CCE

Article Content

Nurse educators have an opportunity to incorporate population health concepts and the use of big data into simulated patient scenarios. Group assignments were developed for an adult (heart failure [HF]/end of life) and a pediatric (asthma) community health simulation that relate to population health concepts. Students were divided into 2 rotating groups, one actively engaged in the simulation whereas the other worked on the group assignment. The students were given detailed instructions and resources to complete the assignment. For the adult simulation, each group selected an unfamiliar hospital in our state to research HF readmission rates. Students were asked questions related to the specific patient in the scenario that addressed disease-specific population health measures, education initiatives, and community-based nursing interventions to reduce readmission rates and improve outcomes. For the pediatric simulation, the students compared 2 counties in our state, researching pediatric asthma prevalence, emergency department visits, hospital admissions, racial disparities, incidence of asthma education, and number of missed school days. Questions examined community-focused education initiatives and barriers to care specific to the scenario. Debriefing strategies for both simulations used these group assignments to apply principles of population health. Applying this information to the simulation activities engaged the students in discussion, increasing their awareness of the complexities in delivering nursing and health care to individuals and groups in the community setting.