Assessing Undergraduate Student Nurses’ Performance in Various Public Health Roles Using Simulation

Purpose: To expose students to various public health roles and complement clinical experience using simulated encounters. Design: This exploratory study assessed students’ performance of basic nursing tasks for three public health nurse roles. Methods: 15-guided questions were used to evaluate a convenience sample of 137 students’ expected performance compared to their actual performance of basic nursing skills. Findings: Students’ performed well in all nurse roles with some significant differences in completing a few critical tasks in the case manager and school nurse roles. Conclusion: Simulation can address gaps in nursing programs and expose student nurses to various public health roles using real-life scenarios. Clinical Evidence: Lack of clinical sites in public health limits students’ experience to a myriad of nurse functions within communities.