On March 30, the International Nursing Association of Clinical Simulation and Learning (INACSL) and the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH) supported officially the use of virtual simulation as replacement of clinical hours for students currently enrolled in health sciences professions – nursing and medical students – during the current public health crisis caused by COVID-19.
“Based on the current and anticipated shortage of healthcare workers, we propose that regulatory bodies and policy makers demonstrate flexibility by allowing the replacement of clinical hours usually completed in a healthcare setting with that of virtually simulated experiences during the pandemic.”
Dr Cynthia Foronda (President, INACSL)
Bob Armstrong (President, SSH)
As members of the Corporate round table of SSH we highlight their position statement and present ourselves as a solution. By looking at past results we can attest the successful implementation of virtual simulation and also, literature has proved how its use contributes to the improvements of students learning outcomes.
This worldwide pandemic has changed our usual way of living, working, traveling and so on. However, education cannot stop and its curricular pipelines remain intact. Either through online or virtual meetings, students’ learning is being ensured by theoretical lessons, clinical cases discussions and home research projects. Nevertheless, many regulatory bodies require completion of a set number of hours within the clinical setting and students learn curve increases higher and faster when putting knowledge into practice.
By supporting this innovative yet effective way of teaching as a solution to address the clinical hour shortage for health professions students, INACSL and SSH believe that “education effort will continue seamlessly”.
Find here the complete COVID-19: SSH/ INACSL Position Statement on the Use of Virtual Simulation during the pandemic.
