Advancing Clinical Skills for the Nurse Practitioner Student: A Screen-Based Simulation Approach.

BACKGROUND

Effective clinical documentation is essential to safe patient care, making early training critical for nurse practitioner (NP) students. This project implemented an innovative instructional approach using three Screen-Based Simulation (SBS) cases to introduce history-taking and documentation skills prior to students' first clinical rotation.

METHOD: A longitudinal single-cohort design was used, and students completed surveys at two points: immediately after completing the SBS cases and again following their initial clinical rotation.

RESULTS

Quiz performance showed small improvements from post-SBS to post-clinical (d = 0.17, p = .348; matched d = 0.20, p = .415), with generally stable response patterns and slight increases in correct answers. Students also reported greater confidence and moderate perceived preparedness for history-taking and documentation after completing SBS activities.

CONCLUSION

Overall, findings suggest that SBS is a valuable strategy for NP education, offering early exposure to essential assessment and documentation skills and helping build students' confidence before entering clinical practice.