Meeting Undergraduate Nursing Students' Clinical Needs A Comparison of Traditional Clinical, Face-to-Face Simulation, and Screen-Based Simulation Learning Environments

Background: Nurse educators expanded replacement of traditional clinical practice and face-to-face simulation experiences with screen-based simulation (SBS) during the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic. Purpose: The purpose of this research was to understand the student experience when learning in 3 types of clinical education environments. Methods: This quantitative descriptive survey study used the Clinical Learning Environment Comparison Survey 2.0 (CLECS 2.0) to compare prelicensure nursing students' perceptions of learning in 3 clinical learning environments. Results: The CLECS 2.0 was completed by 113 participants from 3 countries. Most scores were highest for the traditional clinical practice environment, and all were lowest for the SBS environment. Conclusions: The findings are concerning as discussions about whether SBS can replace traditional clinical practice hours unfolds. The findings support the need for concentrated efforts to improve specific areas of the SBS experience.

Automated summary

The study found that most prelicensure nursing students rated their learning experience highest in traditional clinical practice environment and lowest in SBS environment, suggesting a need for improvements in specific areas of the SBS experience.