Announced by the Ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur at the end of 2020, researchers from Cégep Heritage College and John Abbott College were awarded a grant as part of the 2020-2021 call for projects within the Canada-Québec Agreement on Higher Education.
Denyse T. April , Jane Pearsall and Ute Beffert. (Photo John Abbott College and CEGEP Heritage College)
Denyse April, RN, BScN, M.Ed, Nursing teacher, Heritage College, Ute Beffert, Nursing Co-Chairperson, John Abbott College and Jane Pearsall, RN, BNSc., M.Ed and Nursing Instructor, John Abbott College are all part of the execution of the project which explore the possibilities of nursing success with simulation. The project is called Modifying Clinical to Simulation Ratio: The Impact on Québec Nursing Students’ Success, Cognitive Load and Mental Wellness and has caught the attention of the Canada-Québec Agreement on Higher Education.
About the project
This project starts with an observation on the diminishing numbers and availability of appropriate clinical placements in the recent years. That situation has been a perennial challenge for nurse educators, the author says. As such, the use of high-fidelity simulation has been used to replace some in-hospital clinical experience hours over the past decade. Recent research has shown that simulation appears to be a more concentrated and efficient teaching methodology compared to traditional hospital learning suggesting a 2:1 clinical to simulation ratio. Researchers April, Beffert and Pearsall plan to investigate how 8 hours of simulation (equivalent to one traditional clinical day) versus 4 hours of simulation will impact student success, while maintaining the connection to the multicultural aspects of the obstetrical clinical experience.
Additionally, insight into whether decreasing student workload through reduced simulation hours will have a positive effect on students’ mental health will be of major interest.
The Ministère de d’enseignement supérieur explains that this 1-year grant of $182,430 has been extended due to the limitations imposed by COVID-19.
