Looking to find your faculty niche? Consider professional development as a simulation facilitator
As nursing education adapts to meet the needs of complex healthcare delivery, simulation continues to be a pivotal teaching strategy. Could it be the next career focus for you?
Ashley Franklin, PhD, RN, CNE, CHSE-A, recognized the importance of simulation as a result of her early practice as an intensive care nurse in an academic health science center. The formal pedagogy of simulation had not been part of her nursing education, but her experience mentoring new nurses piqued her interest in how experiential learning could enhance readiness for practice. When she was ready to make a job change, she accepted a position in a simulation center.
“I quickly fell in love with the aspect of simulation that is learner-centered and learner-led,” said Dr. Franklin, who is the Rankin Endowed Professor of Nursing in the Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences at Texas Christian University. “I found that it matched my personality and teaching style really well.”
Dr. Franklin’s professional path underscores the fulfillment of finding a niche in nursing education — and simulation is a signature pedagogy she hopes more nursing faculty will explore. In the 16 years since she transitioned to an academic nursing role, Dr. Franklin has become a passionate advocate and researcher in the field of simulation learning. And as the 2024-2025 president of the International Nursing Association of Clinical Simulation and Learning (INACSL), Dr. Franklin collaborates with nursing simulation experts to raise the quality of simulation experiences in academic and practice settings.
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Simulation is an essential teaching strategy for developing new nurses
Simulation is an important teaching strategy because it is experiential, yet decreases the risk of patient harm. This allows learners to practice thinking on their feet, communicating in their new nursing role, and working as a team. Simulation is rooted in ethical standards that include the core values of integrity, transparency, mutual respect, professionalism, accountability, and results orientation.
"Simulation gives learners a chance to practice in a situation where there's zero chance of patient harm," Dr. Franklin said. In simulation learning environments, learners can make errors or omissions and improve performance when guided by a trained facilitator who directly observes the in-person or virtual experience. Some simulations involve an added element of feedback from a technology platform to improve performance. By removing the risk of patient harm and fear of punishment, learners can more effectively and fully engage in the experience.
The value of a simulation learning environment goes beyond safety, however. A landmark study by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), published in 2014, provided empirical support for the efficacy of simulation. The study found that high-quality simulation could substitute for up to 50% of traditional clinical experience without compromising educational outcomes.
Given that many nursing programs want to expand their admissions but may struggle to obtain adequate classroom space and clinical partners, this evidence in support of simulation has prompted more academic nursing programs to allocate resources to simulation-based learning and professional development.
“Simulation offers a solution to allow programs to grow and to also maintain educational quality,” Dr. Franklin said.
The most pressing need in simulation education is for facilitators
For many academic nursing programs, however, the ability to introduce or expand simulation experiences for students is a challenge. Key contributors include:
- Lack of training: In many nursing programs, current simulation faculty received little formal training in simulation facilitation.
- Resource constraints: Some simulation equipment requires maintenance and support, which can hinder the integration of simulation across a curriculum.
- Overall faculty shortages: The shortage of nurse educators in all roles exacerbates the ability to hire simulation facilitators.
- Time constraints: Faculty members often have heavy workloads, leaving limited time for professional development, vetting new scenarios, and implementing and evaluating simulation quality.
Dr. Franklin said she considers the shortage of simulation facilitators a pressing issue nationwide. INACSL recognizes this need and has introduced multiple resources to prepare nursing faculty for simulation roles.
"Our workforce has changed significantly since COVID, and many faculty with simulation expertise have moved on to different jobs or retired altogether,” she said. “My perspective is that nursing faculty need more simulation professional development, and I’m thankful that they’re looking to organizations like INACSL to help fill that gap.”
Professional development resources for facilitators are available from INACSL
INACSL has developed multiple education and training activities to help faculty and simulation facilitators meet learner and program needs. In the INACSL Center for Learning faculty can find webinars, courses, and formal professional development programs.
Dr. Franklin said two of the most popular professional development resources are the INACSL Simulation Education Program (ISEP) and the Cornerstones of Best Practice program. Each program provides asynchronous online learning opportunities that focus on Healthcare Simulation Standards of Best PracticeTM, allowing faculty to engage in self-paced, reflective learning.
The ISEP provides a path for novice and intermediate simulation educators to learn and apply evidence-based strategies in simulation. For advanced simulation educators, INACSL encourages ISEP to refine skills and focus on application of best practices. ISEP is a comprehensive training, organized by cohort, that requires a time commitment of approximately 6 months. It integrates concepts of simulation and instructional design into practice using interactive projects.
The Cornerstones of Best Practice program provides a way for facilitators to learn about the four cornerstones of high-quality simulation: prebriefing, facilitation, professional integrity, and debriefing. INACSL introduced the program to help facilitators develop and demonstrate excellence across established standards. Learners can complete the online modules on their own schedule, and the average time to complete the program is 4 hours.
Simulation facilitation differs from didactic teaching and enhances learning
Professional development for simulation facilitators is important because simulation facilitation skills are distinct from traditional didactic teaching, Dr. Franklin said. Simulation facilitation is learner-led, requiring facilitators to "step in and ask curious questions to uncover knowledge and behavior gaps," she explained. The facilitator doesn’t have complete control because learners maintain an active posture.
Adapting simulation scenarios to regional or local healthcare cultures and practices is another unique element of this role. For example, a simulation scenario created in one state may not be directly transferable to another due to differences in regional healthcare culture, Dr. Franklin said. Adopting predesigned simulation scenarios and technology can help in terms of time savings, but facilitators still have to vet and customize scenarios to make them meaningful for learners.
Simulation learning can help nursing programs meet educational standards
In addition to preparing new nurses for practice, simulation learning can help nursing programs meet educational standards such as the Essentials developed by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Simulation-based learning that combines the pedagogical strengths of learner engagement, coaching, and direct observation with assessment is valuable throughout the academic journey.
“I see lots of opportunities for simulation to helps programs document Level 1 and Level 2 competencies during programs and beyond graduation,” Dr. Franklin said. “… I think that's a strength of professional development for facilitators. When we think about competency-based education, there are other health disciplines who are further down the path of using simulation for competency-based education.” For example, medical residents use a simulation-based mastery model in their curriculum focused on procedural skills, cognitive tasks, and communication.
“Developing skills as a simulation facilitator promoted a sense of belonging for me as a nurse educator,” Dr. Franklin said. “Looking into simulation as a signature pedagogy helped me evaluate the strengths and opportunities for improving readiness for practice across a variety of settings.
“The simulation community is so willing to share, network, and learn together,” she continued. “I encourage nurse educators to dip their toes into simulation by reaching out to colleagues, asking for an observation experience, and listening to stories about learners’ aha moments in simulation.”
Incorporating simulation resources into your program
Simulation experiences in a nursing program can be supported and enhanced with learning solutions such as those developed by ATI’s team of nurse educators and technology developers.
Civility Mentor helps students build their capacity to demonstrate professional, caring behaviors in the classroom setting and to empathize with and advocate for clients. Through participation in four simulation modules, students learn, practice and apply techniques in effective communication, conflict negotiation, stress management, self-reflection, professional conduct, and other essential behaviors. The detailed simulations present conflicts in peer-to-peer interactions, student-to-preceptor relationships, and other commonly experienced situations.
HealthAssess prepares nursing students to perform health assessments through a virtual learning and practice experience. Using a combination of learning modules and authentic practice simulations that include EHR documentation, HealthAssess focuses on the assessment scenarios most applicable to the practice of new nurses.
Real Life™️ is an engaging screen-based simulation that helps students build clinical decision-making and clinical judgment skills. Through multiple realistic client scenarios, students are challenged to make important healthcare decisions that impact client outcomes.
Swift River Simulations provides more than 600 unfolding screen-based simulation scenarios covering major clinical areas. The simulations prompt students to make clinical decisions, think analytically, prioritize decision making, and delegate tasks.
To learn more about ATI simulation resources and clinical experience solutions, click the image below.
