Chen Aleda M H, Kiersma Mary E, Yehle Karen S, Plake Kimberly S
Cedarville University, School of Pharmacy, 251 N. Main St., Cedarville, OH 45314, United States.
Manchester University, College of Pharmacy, 10627 Diebold Rd., Fort Wayne, IN 46845, United States.
Nurse Educ Today. 2015 Jan;35(1):38-43. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2014.05.005. Epub 2014 May 20.
Nurses should be well-prepared to improve and address health-related needs of older adults, but students may have difficulty understanding and empathizing, as they may not yet have personally experienced aging-related challenges. Simulation games can be used to help students understand the experiences of others, but limited information is available on the impact of simulation experiences on student empathy.
The objective of this study was to examine the impact of participation in an aging simulation game on nursing students' empathy and attitudes toward older adults as well as their understanding of patients' experiences in the healthcare system.
This study used a quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest design.
A school of nursing in the Midwestern United States.
The convenience sample included 58 sophomore-level baccalaureate nursing students.
Students played the role of an older adult during a 3-hour laboratory aging simulation game, the Geriatric Medication Game® (GMG). Students completed the (1) Kiersma-Chen Empathy Scale (KCES, 15 items, 7-point Likert-type), (2) Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Health Professions Students (JSE-HPS, 20 items, 7-point Likert-type), and (3) Aging Simulation Experience Survey (13 items, 7-point Likert-type) pre- and post-game to assess study objectives. Descriptive statistics and paired t-tests were performed in SPSS v.21.0, as the data were normally distributed.
Students' empathy (N=58) toward older adults significantly improved overall (KCES p=0.015, JSE-HPS p<0.001). Improvements also were seen on seven out of 13 questions related to attitudes and healthcare understanding (p<0.05). In the post-test, students agreed that they experienced frustration and impatience during the GMG.
Students may not be aware of older adults' feelings and experiences prior to experiencing aging-related changes themselves. Simulation activities, such as the GMG, can be a useful mechanism for addressing empathy and caring during student education.
护士应做好充分准备，以改善和满足老年人的健康相关需求，但学生可能难以理解和感同身受，因为他们可能尚未亲身经历与衰老相关的挑战。模拟游戏可用于帮助学生理解他人的经历，但关于模拟体验对学生同理心影响的信息有限。
本研究的目的是检验参与衰老模拟游戏对护理专业学生的同理心、对老年人的态度以及他们对医疗系统中患者体验的理解的影响。
本研究采用准实验性的前测-后测设计。
美国中西部的一所护理学院。
便利样本包括58名大二本科护理专业学生。
在一场为时3小时的实验室衰老模拟游戏“老年用药游戏”（GMG）中，学生扮演老年人的角色。学生在游戏前后完成以下三项测试，以评估研究目标：（1）基尔斯马-陈同理心量表（KCES，15项，7点李克特量表）；（2）杰斐逊健康专业学生同理心量表（JSE-HPS，20项，7点李克特量表）；（3）衰老模拟体验调查问卷（13项，7点李克特量表）。由于数据呈正态分布，在SPSS v.21.0中进行描述性统计和配对t检验。
学生（N = 58）对老年人的同理心总体上有显著提高（KCES p = 0.015，JSE-HPS p < 0.001）。在与态度和医疗理解相关的13个问题中，有7个问题也有改善（p < 0.05）。在测试后，学生们一致表示在GMG游戏中经历了挫折和不耐烦。
在学生自己经历与衰老相关的变化之前，他们可能没有意识到老年人的感受和经历。诸如GMG这样的模拟活动可能是在学生教育过程中解决同理心和关怀问题的有用机制。
