You will come out the other side so ready for the next bit of your nursing journey.
Nicholas
BSc (Hons) Nursing (Adult Health)
You'll find out more about yourself doing a ASPP placement than you would in probably any other placement.
Nursing student’s experience of the Assessed Simulation Practice Placement (ASPP)
Nicholas and Cath found the ASPP provided them with good experience to set them up for the rest of their nursing career
This article was written by Hannah Tennant, BSc (Hons) Nursing (Adult Health) student as part of her internship with the School of Nursing and Midwifery.
The Assessed Simulated Practice Placement
Structured simulation placements offer a fantastic alternative to traditional placements, developing skills and encountering experiences you may not find elsewhere. They’ve received glowing reviews so far and are gaining popularity nationally.
In their second year of the BSc (Hons) Nursing degree, Nicholas and Cath found the ASPP typically involved a mix between interactive online sessions and at least two days a week face-to-face in the University’s
clinical skill labs
or lecture rooms. They found there was a lot of patient contact, where patients would come in and talk about their experiences. Plus, specialist nurses from various fields led engaging sessions, teaching a range of clinical skills.
Organised scenarios provided valuable experiences including the ‘disaster day', which Cath commented:
The 'disaster day' was probably one of the best things I've ever done. I enjoyed collaborating with paramedics and other members of staff. The lengths they went to set up a natural disaster within the University was fantastic. We just had the best day.
Cath
For nursing students like Cath and Nicholas, organised scenarios within the ASPP allows students to learn and practice skills within a safe setting.
Learning from each other
Cross field experience
As part of the ASPP, student nurses in the adult, mental health, and child fields all work together, which is not typically encountered on a traditional placement. This gives students a fantastic opportunity to gain valuable knowledge and experience of some of the other fields within nursing.
Collaboration
Nicholas and Cath found that the ASPP lecturers worked hard to facilitate a multi-disciplinary team approach, reflective of real practice. They enabled students to work with paramedics, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, midwifery and dentistry students, to name a few. Sharing knowledge and expertise enhances communication and promotes teamwork.
You're learning from each other, which I think is really good. That's what I loved. I learned so much about mental health from working with my mental health student nurses.
Nicholas
For me, as a mental health student nurse, we do very little in the way of clinical skills and that's how it pans out in the real world as well. But to be able to have access to that and the support from the adult nurses was phenomenal, and it gave me an opportunity to really build some extra skills that I think are quite important
Cath
Evidence-based learning and practice
Rationale: Understanding the rationale behind nursing action is essential for providing effective care and making informed decisions. Nicholas and Cath felt that the rationale was highlighted throughout their ASPP, which advanced their practice.
“OK, we're doing an A to E, but why are we doing it?” is the kind of question they found themselves answering before completing a nursing assessment or intervention.
Nursing rationale often stems from evidence-based practice, which integrates the best available evidence with clinical expertise and patient preferences. Nurses rely on research findings to inform their practice and make decisions that are most likely to benefit the patient. This heavily aligns with the Nursing and Midwifery Council Code (2018) to ‘always practice in line with the best available evidence’.
Future in nursing
Simulation practice placements are regarded as valuable for improving nursing students' communication and clinical reasoning skills, generating new knowledge, fostering reflection and preparing them for clinical practice. Nicholas and Cath found they felt prepared and confident to continue their nursing journey after completing the ASPP.
That supportive working environment is what makes the ASPP the perfect place to nurture your knowledge and skills and encourage you to continually develop your nursing expertise. For Nicholas and Cath, the only advice they had for students wishing to take part in a SIM placement is to embrace it and enjoy every moment.
I think it should be compulsory that students have to do the ASPP because I think it really does give you a completely holistic view of nursing, because it gives it to you from the patient perspective, from your colleague’s perspective. It just set me up with such confidence for my final year.
It gets you ready for the academic side of things. So, it really does give you that whole rounded package that you wouldn't necessarily get by just going on a 12-hour shift on a ward.
Nicholas