Evaluating the impact of scenario-based high-fidelity patient simulation on academic metrics of student success.

Despite the ongoing nursing shortage, nurse educators are responsible for preparing students to practice in highly complex health care systems. As nurse educators explore new learning strategies to support an increase in student admissions, they must also evaluate the impact of these strategies on the quality of the educational experience. The study reported here evaluated the impact of scenario-based, high-fidelity patient simulation used to increase student admissions in an associate degree and baccalaureate nursing program in north-central Texas upon students' sense of their own clinical competence, graduating grade point average (GPA), and performance on standardized exit examinations. These are measures commonly used by nurse educators as metrics of success.