Nursing education: use of clinical simulation in the care of patients with dengue fever.

OBJECTIVE

To analyze how clinical simulation impacts nursing students' proficiency in clinical evaluation, decision-making, therapeutic communication, and reporting of dengue fever with warning signs within a primary health care context.

METHODS

Third-term nursing undergraduates participated in the activity, which involved a standardized patient, a 45-year-old female with persistent vomiting, fever, and abdominal pain after a trip to an endemic dengue area. A structured checklist was used to assess their performance in terms of diagnostic suspicion, anamnesis, physical examination, tourniquet test, recognition of severity signs, completion of the reporting formulary, patient referral decisions, and communication with the patient. The actor received detailed instructions to ensure realism and standardization. This project followed ethical tenets and was approved by the Research Ethics Board.

RESULTS

Students showed high engagement, with improvements in their logical reasoning, confidence in approaching patients, and communication. Most of them correctly identified dengue fever suspicion, although they had difficulties recognizing the warning signs, which enriched the debriefing and promoted reflection on decision-making.

CONCLUSION

Clinical simulation is a powerful tool for teaching dengue fever and integrating theory and practice. Thus, it provides significant learning and strengthens the education of better-prepared nurses for qualified performance in primary healthcare.