Wolters Kluwer & Laerdal Medical Launch Virtual Sim Solution

To improve the fidelity of virtual simulation, develop practice ready nurses with strong clinical judgment skills, and help address practice readiness gaps due to limited clinical training sites, Wolters Kluwer, Health and Laerdal Medical unveiled the next generation of vSim for Nursing. vSim for Nursing provides real-world, evidence-based scenarios written by the National League for Nursing that allow nursing students to actively develop their clinical judgment, competence, and confidence.

Using the next generation of vSim for Nursing, students are immersed into a safe, dynamic environment with diverse patients and an enhanced 3D design. Mirroring real clinical practice, students learn to recognize and analyze cues - such as pain, paleness, urticaria - effectively to take action and respond to unfolding visual and audio responses from the patient to improve clinical reasoning skills. vSim also focuses on elevating students’ interprofessional communication skills through the new situation, background, assessment, and recommendation (SBAR) feature which produces a SBAR score based on the students’ report.

According to Jacqueline Semaan, MSN, CHSE, RNC-LRN Nursing Skills Lab Coordinator, Simulation Coordinator, Lake Superior College, “The updates to vSim for Nursing offer a number of important enhancements for our students. Students enjoy walking through the entire clinical judgment formation process, including the opportunity to practice communication. This is truly one of the most important additions to the product in that it allows students to apply what we talked about and then be tested/graded on their learning. They can draw from that experience and possibly use it in the future in a real patient care scenario. This enhancement has led students to take their vSim courses more seriously, and that is very encouraging as a nurse educator.”

In 2014, vSim was introduced as the first virtual simulation solution for nursing education as part of Lippincott CoursePoint+. Studies show 98% of students using vSim recommended it for future use.1 The next generation online learning solution will be available for demonstration at the hybrid International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare Conference taking place from January 15-19, 2022.

“We collaborated closely with nurse educators throughout the design and development process to deliver the next generation vSim platform with increased educational value, user experience and clinical realism. This allows students to feel more immersed in the experience as if they are in that real-world setting with the patient," said Cansu Akarsu, Vice President of Healthcare Education at Laerdal Medical. “Tablet compatibility allows students to practice clinical judgement, take assessments and hone their decision-making skills independently, anytime anywhere.”

“Nursing schools are under immense pressure to train and prepare students for practice, and this has only intensified as the nursing shortage has grown,” adds Julie Stegman, Vice President of the Nursing Segment of the Health Learning, Research & Practice segment at Wolters Kluwer. “Virtual simulation can provide an essential resource for nursing schools that are facing a shortage of clinical sites and resources to ensure all of their students receive quality clinical training that can be done anytime, anywhere.”

Additional course areas will be added throughout 2022.