Simulation, in its many forms, has been a part of nursing education and practice for many years. The use of games, computer-assisted instruction, standardized patients, virtual reality, and low-fidelity to high-fidelity mannequins have appeared in the past 40 years, whereas anatomical models, partial task trainers, and role playing were used earlier. A historical examination of these many forms of simulation in nursing is presented, followed by a discussion of the roles of simulation in both nursing education and practice. A viewpoint concerning the future of simulation in nursing concludes this article.T hroughout time, nursing educators have sought effective ways to help students to become competent nurses. Since learning takes place through cognitive, psychomotor, and affective domains, nursing education has taken place in the lecture room, the psychomotor laboratory, and in the health care delivery setting. To enhance theoretical learning, simulation, in its many forms, has been added. The types of simulation used in nursing education include anatomical models, task trainers, role playing, games, computer-assisted instruction (CAI), standardized patients, virtual reality, and low-fidelity to high-fidelity mannequins. For the most part, these types of simulation, with the exception of anatomical models, task trainers, and role playing, have been introduced to nursing education in the past 40 years, which coincides with the 40th anniversary of this journal. With increasing numbers of nursing students and decreasing numbers of available clinical sites and nursing faculty, the use of simulation has become an integral part of nursing education. In this article, each of these types of simulation and their use in nursing education is discussed. This is followed by a description of the roles of simulation in both nursing education

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Professional competency will be a critical performance outcome in the years ahead. Current investigations have found an alarming increase in the morbidity and morality rates of individuals in hospitals across the United States. With such findings, the competency levels of health care professionals, including nurses, are under scrutiny. The use of human patient simulators (adult and pediatric) in baccalaureate and graduate nursing education provides an excellent, objective tool by which to measure competency in the application of knowledge and technical skills. Emphasis is placed on educational, research, and evaluative applications of the simulators for nursing education. Critical Incident Nursing Management is further described as an instructional framework for the use of this technology. Last, administrative considerations will be addressed.

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The period of health care transition (HCT) for adolescents and emerging adults with special health care needs and disabilities involves a complex realignment of the parent-child relationship, including alterations in role responsibilities and decision making. The purpose of this systematic review was to analyze the research designs, methodology, and findings reported in studies of parents during this transition period to provide new insights for research and clinical practice. Results showed that parents were unable to clearly envision what the future held for their children and were not well prepared by the service system to anticipate future prospects. These parents have a myriad of needs that are not yet fully understood, as HCT research is in the early stages of development.