Final year undergraduate nursing students' experience of high-fidelity simulation: results of a survey.

Within a Bachelor of Nursing program, high-fidelity simulation optimises student preparation for the clinical environment and promotes the consolidation of clinical skills. It is important to research and evaluate high-fidelity simulation experiences as satisfied students engage in more meaningful learning, which in turn facilitates active and purposeful participation in their simulation experiences. The aim of this study was to describe undergraduate nursing students' experience of high-fidelity simulation. An exploratory descriptive design. Three simulation centres within a university located across metropolitan, regional and rural Victoria. Undergraduate students ( = 567) from three campuses completing their final clinical nursing unit were invited to participate in the study. Students participated in a high-fidelity simulation scenario and immediately after the experience completed a survey that included the Satisfaction with Simulation Experience Scale. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences for Windows version 27.0. A total of 288 students participated in this study. The majority of students strongly agreed or agreed that high fidelity simulation enhanced their learning (98.9%), developed their clinical reasoning skills (97.2%) and clinical decision-making ability (96.9%), and that simulation was a valuable learning experience (99.3%). Students perceived high-fidelity simulation positively and considered high-fidelity simulation to be a useful teaching and learning strategy.