Identifying and mitigating safety hazards comprise a critical role of the nurse when providing care. Nursing students are taught the importance of patient safety throughout their nursing curriculum and how to identify and manage these risks. The "broken bedside" is a formative assessment where nursing students entered a simulated acute medical-surgical bedside environment with the goal of identifying the patient safety risks prior to their first clinical experience. In pairs, the students were given 5 minutes at the "broken bedside" to identify and verbalize all the safety risks such as incorrect isolation precautions, lack of correct personal protective equipment, slip hazards, fall risks, dietary inconsistencies, infection control, confidentiality breaches, and medication errors. One unique aspect of this activity was the risks were not only to the patient but to the staff and potential visitors as well. Anecdotally, students reported the activity increased their awareness of different safety risks they may encounter. Students expressed increased confidence to recognize and intervene prior to an adverse event causing harm and appreciated the opportunity for practice before entering the clinical setting. One advantage of this simulation was that no consumable supplies were used. Therefore, the activity was able to run at virtually no cost. This simulation took place prior to the students' first clinical experience; however, this activity could be leveled to wherever the students are in their program, and more complex safety risks could be added.