Creative Educational Methodologies: Using a Childbirth Simulator with Baccalaureate Nursing Students

In the current nursing educational environment, the need for creative teaching methods in the classroom is being driven by increasing student numbers, less than optimum ratio of faculty to students, and decreased availability of clinical sites. Although skills laboratories have been used for many years, the integration of manikin models with computerized software is relatively new. It has only been within the past 10 years that nursing educators have begun to use these newer simulation models [Nurs Educ Perspect. 2004; 25 (5): 244-248]. The design of these models enables the presentation of a variety of patient conditions and allows instructor control of manikin outcomes in response to student interventions. Several factors determine the complexity of the simulation model chosen by nursing faculty and include such considerations as targeted courses, desired realism, and learning objectives. This article describes a teaching methodology using a childbirth simulator in the clinical education of baccalaureate nursing students during the pediatric/obstetric clinical course.