The effect of using standardized patients in the Simulated Hospital Environment on first-year nursing students psychomotor skills learning

Background: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of using standardized patients in the Simulated Hospital Environment on first-year nursing students' psychomotor skills. Methods: This semi-experimental study was carried out in the one-group pretest-posttest design. Students performed the psychomotor skills in the Non-Simulated Clinical Skill Laboratory and Simulated Hospital Environment. The skill performances of the students were evaluated with the Objective Structured Clinical Assessment form. At the same time, students' views on both environments were received. Results: Students' mean Objective Structured Clinical Assessment score in the Simulated Hospital Environment (69.42 +/- 10.94) was significantly higher than their mean score in the Non-Simulated Clinical Skill Laboratory (57.07 +/- 10.05) (p < 0.05). The differences in scores were particularly significant in the stages of meeting the patient, performing the procedure in accordance with the steps and ending the procedure. The majority of the students stated that they could not do some applications in the Non-Simulated Clinical Skill Laboratory in a similar way to the hospital clinic (85.9%), and they felt like they were in a real hospital clinic in the Simulated Hospital Environment (100%). Conclusions: The results showed that students developed psychomotor skills more fully in a learning environment designed in a similar way to a real hospital clinic setting.