Gender Affirming Postop Care Simulation for Prelicensure Nursing Students: A Pilot Project

Transgender and nonbinary individuals experience significant health disparities which are further complicated by traumatic past experiences with underprepared healthcare professionals who lack understanding of the unique health needs of gender-diverse individuals. Without learning opportunities for health sciences students, including nursing, disparities will persist. A QI project with a pre and posttest design was conducted to evaluate a simulation focused on gender affirming postoperative care of a patient and loved one during the gender-affirmation journey. Ten prelicensure Master of Nursing students in their final year participated in a 20-minute simulation followed by a Debriefing for Meaningful Learning debriefing. Knowledge, skills, comfort, and attitudes mean scores improved after simulation and debriefing. Students reported positive feedback, including appreciation for the inclusion of gender-diverse care. Simulation provides a safe space to practice gender-affirming language, communication, and nursing skills as nurse educators seek to increase diverse prelicensure learning experiences.

Automated summary

Transgender and nonbinary individuals face significant health disparities due to the lack of understanding and support from healthcare professionals. A simulation on gender affirming postoperative care showed improvements in knowledge, skills, comfort, and attitudes among nursing students. Providing learning opportunities through simulations can help develop diverse prelicensure experiences.