Simulation stimulates learning in a childbearing clinical course.

Preparing nursing students to become integral members of today's health care team presents educators with unique challenges in both classroom and clinical settings. This study examined the effectiveness of adding high-fidelity simulation to a childbearing clinical course. Our systematic research addressed the importance of evaluating the outcomes of using simulation on both knowledge acquisition and clinical competency. We found simulation to have a positive effect on not only student clinical performance, but also knowledge development in the undergraduate child-bearing clinical course. These outcome data will inform the curriculum changes needed as we strive to facilitate student proficiency in clinical concepts and skills and prepare the next generation of nurses entering our increasingly complex health care system.