Early Development of Clinical Reasoning Through Virtual Patient Simulation: Nursing Students' Perceptions of Collaborative Decision-Making.
Simulation is increasingly recognised as a strategic approach in nursing education for developing clinical competencies within safe learning environments. However, there is limited understanding of how virtual patient simulation supports the early development of clinical reasoning from the perspecti...
| Publicado en: | Nursing Reports Vol. 16; no. 5; pp. 152 - 168 |
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| Autores principales: | , , , , , |
| Formato: | research Journal Article |
| Publicado: |
MDPI
May2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=194118480&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 194118480 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 2039439X EGNT jtl: Nursing Reports issn: 2039439X maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: May2026 vid: 16 iid: 5 pid: 97109 pub: MDPI artinfo: ui: 194118480 194118480 194118480 10.3390/nursrep16050152 194118480 ppf: 152 ppct: 16 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P tig: atl: Early Development of Clinical Reasoning Through Virtual Patient Simulation: Nursing Students' Perceptions of Collaborative Decision-Making. aug: au: Sales, Leila Ferreira, Maria Pereira, Raquel Lucas, Isabel Marques, Rita Bento, Inês affil: Portuguese Red Cross Higher School of Health, 1300-125 Lisbon, Portugal sug: subj: Students, Nursing, Baccalaureate Psychosocial Factors Student Attitudes Evaluation Clinical Reasoning Decision Making, Shared Computer Simulation Patient Simulation Human Male Female Adult Purposive Sample Exploratory Research Qualitative Studies Descriptive Research Semi-Structured Interview Focus Groups Interview Guides Thematic Analysis Content Analysis Descriptive Statistics Collaboration Critical Thinking Patient Safety Education, Nursing Adult: 19-44 years Male Female ab: Simulation is increasingly recognised as a strategic approach in nursing education for developing clinical competencies within safe learning environments. However, there is limited understanding of how virtual patient simulation supports the early development of clinical reasoning from the perspective of nursing students. Aim: To explore the perceptions of first-year undergraduate nursing students regarding the development of clinical reasoning and collaborative decision-making through virtual patient simulation. Methods: A qualitative, descriptive, and exploratory design was adopted. Semi-structured focus groups were conducted with 73 first-year undergraduate nursing students. Data were analysed using thematic content analysis following Bardin's approach. Results: Students perceived virtual patient simulation as a meaningful and high-impact learning strategy. Realism, interactivity, and group collaboration emerged as key strengths. Engagement with dynamic clinical scenarios supported the integration of theoretical knowledge into practice, enhanced prioritisation skills, and promoted structured clinical reasoning. Collaborative learning facilitated shared reflection and collective problem-solving, while immediate feedback enabled learning through error within a psychologically safe environment. Participants also reported increased confidence and autonomy in decision-making. At the same time, students identified limitations related to software constraints and the alignment between automated assessment and their reasoning processes. Conclusions: Group-based virtual simulation appears to support the early structuring of clinical reasoning, extending beyond technical skill acquisition to foster reflective and collaborative practice. Its educational value, however, depends on intentional curricular integration and strong pedagogical alignment including structured facilitation, alignment between assessment and learning objectives, and opportunities for guided reflection. These findings contribute to a process-oriented understanding of how novice learners make sense of clinical reasoning in simulated contexts. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: research Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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