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Emerging Technology in Nursing Education: Remote Simulation Labs
C922 Assessment 1 WGU Emerging Trends and Challenges in 21st Century Nursing Education
Andrea Raines
Western Governors University
C922 Assessment 1 WGU Emerging Trends and Challenges in 21st Century
Nursing Education Andrea Raines
May 18th, 2025
pg. 1
, 2
Executive Summary
One of the greatest experiences that nursing programs provide nursing students is lab and
clinical time for the students to practice their skills. Often, the opportunities for students to
participate in these experiences can be limited by several factors. Some of those factors include
pandemics, childcare issues, lack of experience opportunities in the widely varying clinical sites,
and more. Technology has developed vastly and by taking advantage of new technology, nursing
schools can tackle some of these problems. One of the technologies developed is the access to
online virtual lab and clinical simulations. These online simulations will be the focus of this
paper. The online simulations can be tailored to the specific school’s education curriculum, can
be accessed by students at any time of day, wherever they have internet and a computer.
Initially, the implementation of this technology will require a bit of time to train and a bigger
budget to purchase the software, but the improved student assessment outcomes will be worth
every second and penny. The simulation software improves student engagement, helps promote
universal experiences, improves patient safety, and provides students with ample opportunity to
practice their newly learned nursing skills. This paper includes five scholarly articles to illustrate
how introduction of this new technology has impacted schools around the world through
assessment scores and student satisfaction. A literature review is illustrated in Table 1, a needs-
gap analysis is present in Table 2, and in Table 3, you will find a force field analysis. Each of
these tables are addressed and explained below. The implementation of this proposal will be
analyzed and discussed in great detail. The conclusion will summarize the significance and
impact of the proposed new technology on the nursing school curriculum and student outcomes
along with all of the pros that come along with it.
pg. 2
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Emerging Technology in Nursing Education: Remote Simulation Labs
Literature Review
Research Findings and Support of Proposal
In Al-nakhle (2022), an experiment was conducted to see the differences between virtual
and in-person learning scores. This experiment found statistically significant differences in pre
and posttests concerning intrinsic motivation, self-efficacy, and knowledge (Al-nakhle, 2022).
The virtual lab simulation group had better lab report scores compared to the control group (Al-
nakhle, 2022).
The findings of this experiment support the proposal because it shows a positive impact on the
school and students from the new simulation technology.
In Govender (2023), a systematic review was conducted to determine the effect of virtual
labs on teaching and self-regulated learning. The review found Higher Education Institutions
Worldwide are transitioning towards online education and findings propose that virtual lab can
initiate self-regulation in times of distance learning like that of the COVID pandemic (Govender,
2023). This supports the proposal as it shows a positive impact on the student outcomes, like Al-
nakhle (2022). In Garrison et al. (2022), how the students felt about the transition to online
nursing is examined. This study found concerns from the nursing students regarding feeling
isolated and missing hands-on experiences (Garrison et al., 2022). This contradicts the proposal
because it illustrates issues that may arise from transitioning to more online and remote nursing
education. This is solved because the proposal is not to replace in person learning with virtual
simulations but to supplement it with additional avenues of learning.
pg. 3
Emerging Technology in Nursing Education: Remote Simulation Labs
C922 Assessment 1 WGU Emerging Trends and Challenges in 21st Century Nursing Education
Andrea Raines
Western Governors University
C922 Assessment 1 WGU Emerging Trends and Challenges in 21st Century
Nursing Education Andrea Raines
May 18th, 2025
pg. 1
, 2
Executive Summary
One of the greatest experiences that nursing programs provide nursing students is lab and
clinical time for the students to practice their skills. Often, the opportunities for students to
participate in these experiences can be limited by several factors. Some of those factors include
pandemics, childcare issues, lack of experience opportunities in the widely varying clinical sites,
and more. Technology has developed vastly and by taking advantage of new technology, nursing
schools can tackle some of these problems. One of the technologies developed is the access to
online virtual lab and clinical simulations. These online simulations will be the focus of this
paper. The online simulations can be tailored to the specific school’s education curriculum, can
be accessed by students at any time of day, wherever they have internet and a computer.
Initially, the implementation of this technology will require a bit of time to train and a bigger
budget to purchase the software, but the improved student assessment outcomes will be worth
every second and penny. The simulation software improves student engagement, helps promote
universal experiences, improves patient safety, and provides students with ample opportunity to
practice their newly learned nursing skills. This paper includes five scholarly articles to illustrate
how introduction of this new technology has impacted schools around the world through
assessment scores and student satisfaction. A literature review is illustrated in Table 1, a needs-
gap analysis is present in Table 2, and in Table 3, you will find a force field analysis. Each of
these tables are addressed and explained below. The implementation of this proposal will be
analyzed and discussed in great detail. The conclusion will summarize the significance and
impact of the proposed new technology on the nursing school curriculum and student outcomes
along with all of the pros that come along with it.
pg. 2
, 3
Emerging Technology in Nursing Education: Remote Simulation Labs
Literature Review
Research Findings and Support of Proposal
In Al-nakhle (2022), an experiment was conducted to see the differences between virtual
and in-person learning scores. This experiment found statistically significant differences in pre
and posttests concerning intrinsic motivation, self-efficacy, and knowledge (Al-nakhle, 2022).
The virtual lab simulation group had better lab report scores compared to the control group (Al-
nakhle, 2022).
The findings of this experiment support the proposal because it shows a positive impact on the
school and students from the new simulation technology.
In Govender (2023), a systematic review was conducted to determine the effect of virtual
labs on teaching and self-regulated learning. The review found Higher Education Institutions
Worldwide are transitioning towards online education and findings propose that virtual lab can
initiate self-regulation in times of distance learning like that of the COVID pandemic (Govender,
2023). This supports the proposal as it shows a positive impact on the student outcomes, like Al-
nakhle (2022). In Garrison et al. (2022), how the students felt about the transition to online
nursing is examined. This study found concerns from the nursing students regarding feeling
isolated and missing hands-on experiences (Garrison et al., 2022). This contradicts the proposal
because it illustrates issues that may arise from transitioning to more online and remote nursing
education. This is solved because the proposal is not to replace in person learning with virtual
simulations but to supplement it with additional avenues of learning.
pg. 3
