Stress and anxiety in nursing students between individual and peer simulations

Abstract

Background The use of high‐fidelity simulation practice as an educational tool is becoming increasingly prevalent in nursing education. Despite the learning effects of simulation practice, students have been shown to experience high levels of stress and anxiety during simulation. In recent years, peer learning has been defined as an acquisition of knowledge and skills through active support and support among equal or equal peers and has been shown to be an effective educational intervention for clinical health science students. Aim The purpose of this study was to incorporate peer learning into simulation learning and to clarify the differences between stress and anxiety during personal and peer simulations. Method Third‐grade undergraduate students in a four‐year course at two nursing universities participated in this study. In this study, the simulated patient was a 53‐year‐old man who had undergone gastrectomy for the treatment of gastric cancer. The scenario was that the patient had completely recovered consciousness in the operating room, and his tracheal tube had been removed one hour before the students examined him. Stress while simulation training was evaluated with heart rate variability. Anxiety was evaluated by the STAI after the simulations were complete. Results Personal simulation practice (personal group; n = 50) and peer simulation practice (peer group, n = 59) was conducted. The personal group included 7 male students, and the peer group included 12 male students; the difference in male proportion was not significant. At the first patient assessment phase, stress of heart rate variability components at the peer group significantly increased relative to that of the personal. In addition, the personal had a significantly higher state anxiety score after simulation than the peer. Conclusion This study shows that in the face‐to‐face scene involving vital sign measurements, the presence of peers did not objectively alleviate stress.

Nursing students' perceived stress, self‐efficacy, control and evaluation of a course in systematic clinical observation, physical assessment and decision‐making: An observational study in Norway

“…We have not been able to identify studies exploring such associations. Nakayama et al (2020) explored factors that may possibly alleviate stress during simulations. They found that, in the face-to-face scene involving vital sign measurements, the presence of peers did not objectively alleviate stress (Nakayama et al, 2020).…”

Clinical competence and self‐efficacy of Lebanese and Saudi nursing students participating in simulation‐based learning in nursing education

“…4 Therefore, SBL is one of the techniques nurse educators might use to cope with conditions in the clinical environment that induce tension and distress among student nurses, such as fear of making errors, negative reactions to patient distress, and patient mortality. 5 Students gain psychomotor and technical abilities to enhance their cognitive capabilities across clinical conditions and make autonomous choices according to Oermann and Gaberson. 6 Nursing students who participate in SBL have more awareness and self-confidence as well as improved motivation, critical reasoning temperament, evaluation, and cognitive abilities.…”

Peer tutoring experiences of neonatal nursing simulations among Korean nursing students: a qualitative study

“…Despite the positive learning effect of simulations, students experience high levels of stress and anxiety during simulations, negatively affecting their self-efficacy and learning results [ 24 ]. Using peer tutoring during simulations is effective in increasing learning efficacy by reducing tutees' anxiety [ 25 ]. In the current educational environment, where the use of simulations is increasing as an alternative to the unpredictable clinical practicum [ 26 ], the use of peer tutoring should be actively considered to provide reliable and effective simulations for neonatal nursing to students.…”