Free Public Health Nursing Virtual Simulation Games
The McMaster University School of Nursing, in collaboration with the University of Ottawa, Queen’s University, the Canadian Alliance of Nursing Educators using Simulation (CAN-Sim) and the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN), have launched a series of virtual simulation games (VSGs) on public health nursing. The Developing Public Health Nursing Competencies Through Virtual Simulation Games (the “games”), which will be freely available and accessible in both French and English, are designed to take nursing students through three scenarios focused on community assessment, health promotion approaches, and program planning and evaluation.
The VSGs integrate video clips that depict characters in a case study, assessment and reflection questions, options for debriefing, and other resources to support nurse educators in optimizing the learning experience for nursing students. Though designed primarily for use by individual or groups of students and educators in courses, they will also be a helpful tool for nurses and other allied health professionals looking to increase knowledge and skills in public health.
This project, funded by a Virtual Learning Strategy grant from eCampus Ontario, was developed to address a need for public health virtual simulation offerings for nursing education. The games come complete with a Companion Guide developed to help nurse educators with pre-simulation preparation, de-brief, and facilitation; all of which are critical for ensuring achievement of the games’ learning outcomes and for supporting learning in schools of nursing province wide. Public health nursing competencies, which all nurses should possess upon completing a baccalaureate degree, are integral for preparing clinicians to address population health issues, such as health inequities to improve the health of people in Ontario.
