School of Nursing: Simulation Faculty Development Guidelines & Practices for Faculty Teaching in the Prelicensure Program

Unit Policy

Title

School of Nursing: Simulation Faculty Development Guidelines & Practices for Faculty Teaching in the Prelicensure Program

Introduction

Purpose

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ("University" or "UNC-Chapel Hill") School of Nursing (SON) uses simulation in many forms, and follows the NC Board Of Nursing (NCBoN) Simulation Guidelines for Prelicensure Nursing Programs that require faculty to acquire the foundational competencies in simulation before using simulation as a learning tool. The International Nursing Association for Simulation in Nursing and Learning (INACSL) Cornerstones of Simulation represent the foundational competencies for best practice in simulation. The UNC-Chapel Hill SON NCBoN Program Director (Assistant Dean of the Prelicensure Program) is responsible for documenting that faculty using simulation as a learning tool with prelicensure students are qualified to conduct simulation and debriefings. The NCBoN CV now contains a section for faculty to document simulation professional development.  The NCBoN CV is updated once a year and submitted by faculty as part of the annual evaluation process.

Scope

These guidelines and practices apply to all members of the SON community.

Guidelines and Practices

Defining Simulation

The following definitions from the Healthcare Simulation Dictionary (Lioce, 2020) help define simulation:  

  • Simulation – “an educational technique that replaces or amplifies real experiences with guided experiences that evoke or replicate substantial aspects of the real world in a fully interactive manner” (Gaba, 2004 in Lioce, L. (Ed.) Healthcare Simulation Dictionary, p. 44).
  • Computer-based simulation – “the modeling of real-life processes with inputs and outputs exclusively confined to a computer, usually associated with a monitor and a keyboard …[including] immersive virtual reality” (Lioce, L. (Ed.), 2020 Healthcare Simulation Dictionary, p. 12).
  • Virtual reality (VR) - a computer-generated, three-dimensional virtual environment that users can interact with, typically accessed via a computer that is capable of projecting 3D information via a display, which can be isolated screens or a wearable display, e.g., a head-mounted display (HMD), along with user identification sensors. VR can mainly be divided into two categories: non-immersive and immersive.
  • Simulation-based learning experience - “an array of structured activities that represent actual or potential situations in education and practice. These activities allow participants to develop or enhance their knowledge, skills and attitudes, or to analyze and response to realistic situation in a simulated environment” (Pilcher, Goodall, Jensen, et al., 2012 in Lioce, L. (Ed.) Healthcare Simulation Dictionary, 2020, p. 43).

Cornerstones of Simulation Best Practice

As new faculty members are onboarded, the Assistant Dean of the Prelicensure Program requests they provide evidence of training on the INCASL Cornerstones of Simulation Best Practice, including pre-briefing, facilitation, professional integrity, and debriefing. If faculty members have not had such training, they are instructed to seek training within their first year of employment or before using simulation as a learning tool with pre-licensure nursing students, whichever comes first. In new faculty orientation, simulation resources are shared, including the INACSL Healthcare Standards of Best Practice for Simulation.

Course Coordinators have domain over their course simulations, and at the UNC SON, EISLE is a resource for them. EISLE leadership drafts pre-brief and debrief documents for course coordinators based on INACSL Guidelines that can be adapted as needed. The EISLE team meets with faculty to review simulation requirements to ensure adequate space, equipment, supplies, and staffing. The primary debriefing methodologies used are Plus-Delta and Debriefing with Good Judgment also called inquiry and advocacy (Rudolph, 2007).

It is expected that all those involved in simulation-based education have working knowledge of INACSL Healthcare Standards of Best Practice: SimulationSM  and the Society for Simulation in Healthcare Code of Ethics.  Prior to using simulation as a learning activity in the prelicensure program, faculty must also have documented completion of at least one simulation-focused professional development session on their NCBoN CV, approved by EISLE leadership, including but not limited to:

A. Simulation Professional Development

  • UNC-Chapel Hill School of Nursing Faculty Development Simulation In-Person Workshop Series
  • INACSL Best Practices Workshops ($120) 4 hours online https://www.ssih.org/Professional-Development/Online-Learning/Best-Practices-Workshops
  • INACSL Cornerstones to Best Practice ($650) – Full Course Bundle includes pre-briefing, facilitation, debriefing, and professional integrity. https://learning.inacsl.org/inacslcourses
  • Free Essentials in Clinical Simulations Across the Health Profession (MOOC). Participants can print their certificate of course completion at the end. More details about the MOOC modules:
    • Module 1: Getting Started in Clinical Simulation - Fundamentals
    • Module 2: INACSL Standards of Best Practice: Simulation
    • Module 3: Implementing Simulation in the Curriculum
    • Module 4: Developing a Simulation Center - Quick review or skip
    • Module 5: Basics of Debriefing in Simulation
    • Module 6: Evaluation Methods in Simulation
    • Module 7: Standardized Patients (SPs) in Simulation – Quick review unless using SPs
  • Focused education on simulation facilitation and debriefing offered at Simulation Conferences approved by EISLE leadership, including but not limited to:
  • Focused education on simulation facilitation and debriefing offered at conference sessions with a simulation focus approved by the EISLE leadership, such as:
    • National League of Nursing Annual Conference
    • AACN conferences with simulation sessions, etc.
  • Faculty may present other activities, workshops, webinars or conferences with the title and rationale of how they meet the learning objectives related to the Cornerstones of Simulation Best Practice  (e.g., pre-briefing, facilitation, professional integrity, and debriefing) for approval to EISLE leadership

B. Certification

Some faculty may choose to seek national certification in simulation best practices. The Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator (CHSE) Certification from the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSiH) requires at least two years’ experience facilitating simulation and passing an exam. The website has resource links for the Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator exam. The high-level examination blueprint is:

  • Professional Values and Capabilities (18%)
  • Healthcare and Simulation Knowledge/Principles (28%)
  • Educational Principles Applied to Simulation (40%)
  • Simulation Resources and Environments (14%)

Eligibility requirements, application, and fee information can also be found on the CHSE website.

Related Requirements

External Regulations

  1. The program shall have written policies and procedures on the following:
    1. short-term and long-term plans for integrating simulation into the curriculum;
    2. method of debriefing for each simulated activity; and
    3. a plan for orienting faculty to simulation.
  2. For all programs using simulation experiences substituted for clinical experience time, the nursing education program shall:
    1. demonstrate that simulation faculty have been formally educated and maintain the competencies in simulation and debriefing

Contact Information

Primary Contact

Name: Dr. Elizabeth Stone, Assistant Dean, Prelicensure Programs

Telephone: 919-624-1711

Email: esgriffi@ad.unc.edu

Other Contacts

Name: Dr. Carol Durham, EISLE Director

Email: Carol_Durham@unc.edu

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