Integrating the Essentials and NP Competencies in Simulation

Integrating the Master's/DNP Essentials and specialty NP competencies throughout the curriculum can be challenging, particularly when integrating the application of knowledge in the clinical setting. Part of this difficulty lies in transforming the student's view of the nurse practitioner as a healthcare provider who manages individual patients to incorporating the bird's eye view as a systems leader. While simulation has traditionally been used to evaluate the student's skills in the assessment and management of individual patients, there are many opportunities to integrate system-level issues into scenarios. This allows students to also demonstrate their skills as a systems leader. This workshop will provide an overview of how to integrate Master's/DNP Essentials and specialty NP competencies in simulated experiences. The first session will guide participants through the process of selecting core system concepts that are essential for students to demonstrate, such as team conflict resolution, use of technology, explaining how policies affect patient care and leading the process of quality improvement. The second session will cover how to develop a curriculum map to ensure that students have the prerequisite knowledge and skills to address issues extraneous to direct patient care in the simulation experience. The third session will discuss how modifications can be made in direct patient care simulations to include these core system concepts. Student preparation for the simulated experience and methods of evaluating the demonstration of  core system concepts will be discussed.