(66) Teaching nursing management of diabetic ketoacidosis: a description of the development of a virtual patient simulation in accordance with The Healthcare Simulation Standards of Best Practice™

Abstract: Globally, virtual simulation is an emerging educational approach. Virtual patient simulation is an interactive computer simulation that recreates real-world scenarios with the objectives of training, education, and assessment for healthcare providers. Many healthcare professions education institutions are not making use of or misusing it because they ignore how to approach it. This article outlines the process of creating a virtual patient simulation for teaching diabetic ketoacidosis nursing management to undergraduate nursing students in compliance with healthcare simulation standards of best practice™.
After selecting the International Nursing Association for Clinical and Simulation Learning standards of best practice as guidelines for constructing a virtual simulation-based experience, an account was created on the Medicactiv platform. The guidelines for simulation design are composed of eleven criteria. A scenario teaching diabetic ketoacidosis nursing management was first built on the Medicactiv authoring tool and then integrated into the platform. The authoring tool consists of simulation data, patient interview settings, consultation information, and author information.
As a result, a virtual patient with diabetic ketoacidosis has been generated and is awaiting a consultation with a nurse to identify his diagnosis and to assure his reception, conditioning, follow-up, and management of his condition. The participating undergraduate nursing student will perform a history and clinical examination before completing a series of multiple-choice questions.
This research provides a guide for nursing educators who hesitate to use virtual simulation as an educational tool. The next step in this research will be to conduct a randomized controlled trial on this virtual patient simulation.