Improving Students' Safety Practice Behaviors Through a Simulation-Based Learning Experience

This study evaluated 175 senior-level undergraduate nursing students' perceptions and comfort level regarding safety principles and practices before and after participating in a safety-focused clinical simulation-based experience during their nursing leadership course. The Healthcare Professionals Patient Safety Assessment (HPPSA) was used to measure students' perceptions and comfort level regarding patient safety practices. Respondents rated their level of agreement about statements related to errors and safety in health care, their comfort level in reporting and disclosing an error, and whether they had seen, disclosed, or reported an error. The t test for the HPPSA Part 2 was statistically significant (n = 153, t = 2.78, p = 0.006) with mean pretest and posttest scores of 16.95 (SD = 3.44) and 17.69 (SD = 3.25), respectively. The findings suggest simulation is a teaching strategy that may contribute to increasing undergraduate nursing students' comfort with reporting or investigating errors.