Simulation helps equip nursing students to care for patients with dementia

Background: Teaching undergraduate students about older adults with dementia remains an area of acute interest in academia. Identifying optimal simulation methodologies to inform dementia education is essential to prepare nursing students to provide care to this population. Methods: School of nursing faculty completed a quality improvement project to evaluate the effectiveness of simulation to teach geriatric nursing knowledge and clinical judgment to nursing students. A retrospective review of student journal reflections occurred. The thematic analysis approach was used to analyze the qualitative data collected from narrative journals submitted by nursing students (n = 263). Results: Three major themes of Consciousness of Self, Consciousness of Time, and Consciousness of Communication were identified. Conclusion: Findings have the potential to transform how nursing students view the care needs of geriatric patients. This article provides a resource for nursing educators seeking to integrate simulation-based education to teach concepts of care related to dementia. (C) 2021 Organization for Associate Degree Nursing. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.