INTEGRATING CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN THE SIMULATION EXPERIENCES OF BACCALAUREATE NURSING STUDENTS THROUGHOUT THE CURRICULUM

Students educated in a traditional setting acquire knowledge about culturally competent care through book and lecture format. In the simulation experience of baccalaureate students, participants review cultural aspects of care in pre and post-conference sessions, receive immediate feedback from simulation manikins referred to here as SimMan, with which they may tailor future care, and even have the ability to interact with family and ancillary hospital staff actors to deepen cultural awareness. The simulation experience encourages cultural competence to develop over time and allows students to polish their skills in a safe setting. Furthermore, students may utilize their simulation experience by practicing high acuity, low incidence events strengthening both exposure and confidence to otherwise stressful situations to new nurses. Finally, debriefing sessions can be geared to actual interactions within a simulation scenario utilizing video playback as well as instructor observation. Many students enter the clinical setting with little or no exposure to cultures other than their own. In nursing school, the simulation experience provides the student with a safe setting to expand their knowledge of other cultures. The students can gain basic cultural knowledge and develop appropriate interaction skills while practicing in-situ communication with SimMan. Students can learn to tailor conversation, body language and actual care to a variety of cultures through the simulation experience. One may propose that students will leave the simulation laboratory and enter the clinical setting with more skill, confidence and awareness of how to provide culturally competent care to the multicultural population of today's healthcare system.