This is Karen Frith's last column as editor for the Emerging Technologies Center. From Karen: "I began writing the column in the January 2019 issue of Nursing Education Perspectives with a focus on user-centered design. This theme appeared in other columns, such as 'Human Factors in Nursing Education' and 'Design Thinking,' and was woven into other columns. My overall thesis has been that faculty, academic administrators, and simulation specialists must weigh many factors, including the usability of technologies, when deciding where to invest often limited time, money, and energy."
Karen continues: "As Diane Skiba said when she turned over the Emerging Technologies column to me, 'Everything has a season.' My season has ended so I leave you with the capable mind of Matthew Byrne, an experienced author, educator, and clinician. Dr. Byrne wrote the column Informatics and Health Information Technology for the Journal of Perianesthesia Nursing. His work in informatics in hospitals and education will bring a fresh perspective on bridging the gaps using informatics."
ACADEMIC LABS OF THE FUTURE
Academic nursing labs have come a long way from the era of static manikins, videos, and task trainers to the use of simulations with high-fidelity manikins. However, the cost of building, staffing, maintaining, and delivering quality education is high. Just the human simulators with high-fidelity functions alone can incur high initial purchase costs. Even with extended warranty options, ongoing maintenance costs are prohibitive for many nursing programs, making high-fidelity simulation centers and even manikins out of reach.
The demands of nursing practice and the shift to nurses as knowledge workers have changed educational approaches to developing students' clinical judgment. A progressive, more complex simulation lab experience helps bring the thinking work of nursing together with the skill components. Greater fidelity logically raises the cognitive and educational richness of the learning experience. Several emerging trends, including augmented and virtual reality simulations, online simulations, and immersive-interactive simulations, have grown in variety and popularity. A mix-and-match approach may create logistical and financial benefits in alignment with curricular needs and competency assessment priorities.
With many options to consider, we recommend that faculty, academic administrators, and simulation leaders align purchase decisions with strategic plans for the student populations served, the curricular needs of the different academic tracks or programs, the expertise of faculty and staff, and the space and physical resources needed for emerging technologies. (See Table 1 for space requirements and other factors to consider when purchasing technology). The goal of using simulation technology is for students to learn or practice in a safe environment with feedback to guide their development. Regardless of the technology used, the simulation is used to bridge the gap between learning concepts and applying them in near-authentic environments. For example, students can apply what they learned about disaster triage in an immersive-interactive room programmed to match a scene where a tornado ripped through a residential community. Extensive remodeling, moulage, and changes to furniture are not required.
USING A STRATEGIC APPROACH
Significant technical support capabilities are required for the implementation of all simulation options. Faculty experts and simulation specialists are best qualified to recommend the new technology. Using a strategic approach, technologies can be selected that improve learning outcomes and that reasonably match institutional assets and constraints in terms of staffing, finance, and curricular fit. The payoff for well-planned simulation activities is having students competent and confident in making sound clinical judgments.