As technology evolves, the demand for more immersive and realistic training has never been greater, and at the forefront, wearable simulators are transforming nursing education. At the heart of this transformation is the use of wearable simulators paired with standardized patients, a method that’s bridging the gap between classroom learning and real-life clinical experience. Recently, Sam Houston State University School of Nursing embraced this approach by partnering with Avkin, a leader in wearable healthcare simulators, during the media day. The results speak for themselves—both in the immediate feedback from nursing students and faculty, as well as the long-term potential to improve patient outcomes.
Why Wearable Simulators and Standardized Patients?
Healthcare simulationists and budget decision-makers at nursing schools are always asking how they can better prepare their students for the challenges of real-world patient care. The answer is increasingly clear: wearable simulators and standardized patients offer a new level of realism.
What do students think of wearble simulators?
“The wearable simulator with these standardized patients is beneficial because it kind of adds back the benefits that you get from the mannequin,” Jordan Harte, a nursing student from Sam Houston State University observed. “With the wearables, you can mimic them having pneumonia or heart sounds. You can give them super low blood pressures, and it just allows you to have the human aspect while also practicing stuff being wrong in a medical sense.”
Jordan perfectly captures why this decision was made. It provides nursing students with the ability to practice life-like scenarios where human responses and medical conditions can coexist, helping them build essential skills in diagnosis and treatment.
What does faculty think of wearable simulators?
“It was kind of an easy decision!” Brittany Tower, Assistant Director of Simulation and Skills Learning exclaimed. “Once we were exposed to that world, that (using standardized patients) was a possibility, It wasn’t really much of a question after that. This is literally real life, which is the standardized patient. It’s not a lifeless mannequin.” – Brittany Tower, Assistant Director of Simulation and Skills Learning
Standardized patients combined with wearable simulators bring human interaction back into the equation, something that’s irreplaceable when teaching students how to communicate and empathize with patients.
What do deans think of wearable simulators?
“For a dean, thinking forward and thinking about the next 5 to 10 years in their program, you’ve got to understand that this is not a pedagogical development that you can sidestep or not invest in,” asserted Devon Berry Director for the School of Nursing, Sam Houston State University. “If you’re going to be doing what the future of nursing education looks like, you’ve got to begin down this pathway.”
As nursing education progresses, integrating humanized simulation tools will be crucial in producing confident, competent nurses.
The Evidence: Wearable Simulators Improve Patient Outcomes
The use of standardized patients in nursing simulations is more than just an educational trend—it’s a strategy backed by data that shows improved patient outcomes. Studies show that incorporating standardized patients and wearable simulators into training results in higher levels of competence and confidence in students.
For instance, ‘Impact of Wearable Simulators on Nursing Students’ Clinical Skills and Self-confidence’ published in: Clinical Simulation in Nursing (2019) demonstrated that nursing students who trained using wearable simulators reported higher levels of self-confidence in clinical decision-making, communication, and skill proficiency. The research found that wearable simulators allowed students to practice with more realistic scenarios and physical cues, such as heart and lung sounds or the ability to perform physical assessments in a life-like way. These experiences significantly improved student preparedness for real-life clinical situations, reducing errors and improving patient care once students entered clinical practice.
Why Avkin?
During our media day at Sam Houston State University, we were able to demonstrate firsthand the incredible capabilities of Avkin’s wearable simulators. These devices seamlessly integrate with standardized patient programs, offering a new depth of engagement in nursing education. Faculty members have reported that students are more engaged and better prepared for the realities of patient care after working with Avkin’s simulators.
Want to know more about how wearable simulators and standardized patients can bring you simulation to a new level of high-fidelity? Book a meeting below!