Abstract:

Background: Healthcare institutions use patient simulation as a standard aspect of training healthcare students with practical skills before they graduate and encounter with real patients. Simulation can foster the learning process of clinicians as it mimics clinical scenarios. This study aims to determine the perception and awareness of simulation-based learning among medical and nursing students attending clinical rotations at Cuhas-Bugando, Mwanza-Tanzania.

Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 274 students from January 2023 to July 2023. A simple random sampling procedure was used, Data was collected using a self-administered structured questionnaire through online Google form which includes 19 questions. For data analysis, the statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 20 was used, descriptive statistics and cross tabulation such as frequency, mean, percentage, and prevalence were used for data analysis to assess the perception and awareness of simulation-based learning among medical and nursing students attending clinical rotations at Cuhas-Bugando, Mwanza-Tanzania.

Results: Two hundred and seventy four (N=274) students were interviewed from different programs; nursing students were 139 and medical students were 135. The majority of participants were male (n=139,50.7%) while female students represented (n=135,49.3%) of the population. Almost 73% of participants reported that they did not have any experience working in a healthcare setting. The majority of students (95.3%) reported that they engaged in a clinical simulation experience in their healthcare program. The study findings indicated students’ overall perceptions have a high agreement with the statement that they were nervous during their simulation experience with mean = 2.10 (SD ± 1.10). Moreover, Students reported that simulation debriefing experience support their understanding and reasoning (mean=1.97, SD ± 1.01). The study findings revealed that clinical experience have no significant effect on students’ perception toward simulation. However, female students reported that they experienced more nervousness during simulation than male students. Moreover, students who had previous simulation experience reported more agreement that simulation was realistic than students who did not have any simulation experience.

Conclusion: Healthcare professional students have a good perception towards simulation education and feel that simulation should be an integral part of education. Further studies with higher number of participants and different institutions is recommended.