Effect of clinical simulation on the knowledge retention of nursing students

Abstract

Objective

To identify the effect of clinical simulation on the immediate and retained cognitive performance of students in a vocational course in nursing about their performance in emergencies in Primary Health Care.

Methods

This is an intervention study, of before and after type, carried out with 46 students of a vocational course in nursing. Students were allocated into two groups: control and experimental. The control group had access to a theoretical class with demonstration of skill. The experimental group had access to a simulation session with four scenarios. In addition to the sociodemographic characterization, students responded to a knowledge test in three moments, namely: pre-test, immediate post-test and late post-test (after 30 days). A significance level of 5% was adopted, using the Mann-Whitney and Kruskal Wallis tests,

Results

There was a statistical difference between the medians of control and experimental groups in the late post-test (p value=0.038), thus students in the experimental group retained more knowledge than those in the control group.

Conclusion

Learning from clinical simulation conferred higher scores and retention of knowledge compared to those acquired through an expository class with demonstration of skills.

Simulation technique; Emergencies; Knowledge; Students, nursing; Primary Health Care