Free Medical Simulation Scenarios
Free Nursing Simulation Scenarios, Free Emergency Medicine Scenarios, and Free Healthcare Simulation scenarios:
I have previously shared the following articles on where to get free clinical simulation scenarios:
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“And, Scene!” – Places to get Simulation Scenarios (even FREE)
Free Emergency Medicine Sim Case Library
Free Nursing Simulation Scenarios
Additional Free Nursing Simulation Scenarios
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Here’s 5 more free websites to add to your list of scenario resources:
GeroClinSim from the University of North Carolina (Free Registration Req.) – Geriatric Clinical Simulations: http://geroclinsim.org/
MedEdPortal – Physician / Resident Scnarios: https://www.mededportal.org/
National League for Nursing (NLN) – Advancing Care Excellence for Seniors (ACES) : Geriatric Nursing Scenarios
Minnesota Simulation Alliance – Healthcare Simulation Library (Free Registration Req.): http://www.mnsimlib.org/
Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) – Free Nursing Simulations:
- Pediatric Simulation and Unfolding Case Study
- OB Unfolding Case
- Using Simulation to Introduce New Students to Patient Centered Care & Communication
- Utilizing SBARR Using Peer Reviewers in Low Fidelity Lab
- Integrating QSEN Competencies Into a Capstone Simulation
Free medical simulation scenarios provide healthcare educators with a way to quickly start providing clinical simulation experiences for educational, training, or patient safety initiatives. A medical simulation scenario provides clinical educators with an outline of a patient case experience and includes a patient history, medical record, chief complaint, and also details out the patient’s progression via signs and symptoms, as well as provides all the potential vital sign changes, scene settings, props and necessary moulage. The standardization of a simulation based learning (SBL) experience through the creation of medical simulation scenarios helps clinical programs to improve performance overtime across the entire cohort of learners or professionals. Often, these simulation scenarios are also programmed into the clinical learning tool (such as a high fidelity patient simulator like the Laerdal SimMan 3G), to increase the operational efficiency of simulation scenarios so that educators don’t have to manually edit manikin settings during the learning event.
Such healthcare simulation scenarios can include elements such as ways to go about performing a procedure, responding to a medical emergency or determining the optimal treatment for a diagnosis. Healthcare simulation scenarios, including nursing scenarios, are often designed based on a needs assessment and subsequent learning objectives. This development helps facilitate consistent outcomes and strengthens the overall value of the medical simulation scenario experience in all settings.
Often, such medical simulation scenarios are used to address gaps in knowledge or skills that simulation educators are able to identify across clinical practice. By implementing healthcare simulation scenarios, learners are provided with a risk-free environment to hone their skills and ultimately increase their ability to maintain optimal patient safety outcomes. From basic assessments and critical thinking to advanced interventions, clinical simulation scenarios add depth to a learner’s understanding of the scope of healthcare practice.
To ensure that a simulation center, institution or other facility is training their learners to the highest degree, simulation educators should consider downloading the following free medical simulation scenarios which apply to their program goals. These scenarios range from emergency medicine circumstances to cases involving nursing, obstetrics or pediatric simulation. For additional scenarios, sign-up to receive HealthySimulation.com’s free bimonthly medical simulation newsletter. Have a scenario to share? Email us!
Free Medical Simulation Scenario Resources
The Bay Area Nursing Resource Center FREE Scenarios: Organized by KT Waxman and friends, the Bay Area Simulation Collaborative is the starting point to the California Institute for Nursing & Healthcare (CINHC) and the California Simulation Alliance (CSA). Both of these resources have scenarios available to users as well. BASC offers some FREE scenarios for Med/Surg, Critical Care, Peds and Maternity/OB. I have heard from numerous folks that this is a great starting point for some high-level functioning simulation scenarios.
Evolve SLS Case NURSING Scenarios from Elsevier: The scenario packages available from Evolve line up with teaching objectives from several notable educational texts. This works well in that your learners will be able to read about specific examples in their text and then have an opportunity to experience similar examples in your Simulation Labs. Of course, scenarios can act by themselves and do not have to line up with the text – but this is a great opportunity if your department is looking to align the curriculum.
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Manikin-Specific Scenario Packages: Both CAE Healthcare and Laerdal have simulation scenario packages that come programmed for their specific systems. Again, even though with these options you are purchasing a system-specific blueprint for a scenario, once you own the blueprint you can program the algorithm into any of the other systems on your own time. For example, a Laerdal Simbaby PALS scenario can just as easily be used on a Gaumard Baby Hal, you just have to program the software or run it “on-the-fly” by yourself.
The benefit to purchasing these packages is that unlike the Elsevier Evolve scenarios, when you buy these they are yours! This is important for any type of Sim Lab running multi-professional education across healthcare silos, that may need to run collaborative simulations. So with packages like the ones listed below, once your institution purchases them anyone in that institution can use them.
EM Sim Cases: These peer-reviewed clinical simulation cases are for Emergency Medicine programs available and in FOAMed spirit. Examples of medical simulation scenarios from EM Sim Cases include “COVID-19: Difficult Airway,” “Tracheoinnominate Artery Fistula,” Cocaine-Induced Aortic Dissection,” “Pediatric Polytrauma,” “Pediatric Asthma Exacerbation,” “Beta Blocker Toxicity,” Agitation and Aortic Dissection,” “COPDE with Pneumothorax” and more. Within each case, learners will be able to identify who wrote the case, why the case matters and the clinical vignette, along with a downloadable case summary.
Kansas State Board of Nursing Simulation Scenario Library: The Kansas State Board of Nursing offers a medical simulation scenario library developed by faculty at Kansas School of Nursing for use by nursing and allied health programs. The scenario library is a free service intended to provide useful information for nursing programs in the State of Kansas. The board does not warrant the accuracy of every item of information provided online and accepts no liability for damages of any kind resulting from reliance on this information. These free medical simulation scenarios include the following:
- GI Bleed or “Blood & Guts”
- “It’s all in the Head” Meti-meningitis/seizure
- Femur Fracture with Pulmonary Embolism
- Ischemic Stroke with Increased ICP
- IV – IV Medication Review
- Head Injury Scenario – 2 Parts
- Head Injury / Heart Failure Scenario
- Code Pink Simulation
- Air Leak Syndrome With Infant
- Code Pink With Meconium Simulation
- Respiratory Therapy Code Pink Simulation
- Simulation of Pediatric Diabetic Patient
- Placenta Previa – Remediation
- Pre-Scenario Worksheet and List of 14 Scenarios
- Skills Check-Off Scenario
- Basic Medical / Surgical Nursing
- Intermediate / Complex – 2 Medical / Surgical Scenarios 2 Sessions Each
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Massachusetts Department of Higher Education Nursing Initiative Simulation Scenario Library: The Massachusetts Department of Higher Education (DHE) Nursing Initiative Simulation Scenario Library encourages the enhancement of learning opportunities for students and incumbent workers through the use of simulation technology. All scenarios are available for download on the website, and were developed by academic/practice partnerships with grant funding provided by the Nursing Initiative. Specifically, the DHE funded the development of the following scenarios for SimMan and SimBaby high fidelity human patient simulators to be utilized by healthcare facilities and academic programs to integrate into their educational programming:
SimMan Scenarios
- Early Recognition of Impending Stroke (Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Simmons College)
- Geriatric Multicultural MRSA Patient (Lahey Clinic, Salem State College)
- Hyperactive Delirium (Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Simmons College)
- Knee Replacement (Home Care) (MGH Institute of Health Professions, Partners Home Care)
- Palliative Care for Chronically Ill (Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston College)
- Postpartum Hemorrhage (Endicott College, Beverly Hospital/Northeast Hospital Corporation)
SimBaby Scenarios
- Infant with SVT (Northern Essex Community College, Caritas Holy Family Hospital, Lawrence General Hospital, and Merrimack Valley Hospital)
- Pain Assessment Utilizing FLACC Scale (Fitchburg State College, UMASS Memorial Healthcare-University Campus)
Montgomery College Nursing Simulation Scenario Library: The Montgomery College Nursing Simulation Scenario Library is a resource for nursing educators in all settings and is made possible by the generosity of the Healthcare Initiative Foundation. The library is being expanded through the support of the Nurse Support Program (NSPII) funded by the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission (HSCRC). Each library listing contains video (used either independently or with accompanying document(s) to enhance education using simulation in any setting) and accompanying documents (used as guides for educators to recreate content in areas relevant to practice). Scenario topics include the following:
- Adult Telehealth
- Assessment
- Briefing
- Code Blue
- Cultural Sim
- Debriefing
- Eating Disorders
- End of Life
- Managing Incivility
- Medical Error
- Opioid Withdrawal
- Pediatric Telehealth
- Postpartum Hemorrhage
- Sepsis
- Stress and Crisis
- Transgender Care
Quality and Safety Education for Nurses Free Nursing Simulations: Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) offers a number of free nursing simulations. These medical simulation scenarios have been submitted by a number of authors from different institutions across the United States. Learner settings, strategy types of objectives will vary. Nursing scenarios include
- Pediatric Simulation and Unfolding Case Study
- OB Unfolding Case
- Using Simulation to Introduce New Students to Patient Centered Care & Communication
- Utilizing SBARR Using Peer Reviewers in Low Fidelity Lab
- Integrating QSEN Competencies Into a Capstone Simulation
National League for Nursing ACE Unfolding Cases: Every ACE unfolding case uses the highly regarded unfolding case model developed for Advancing Care Excellence for Seniors (ACE.S). These unfolding cases combine the power of storytelling with the experiential nature of simulation scenarios. They are intended to create a robust, meaningful experience for students, one that provides a simulated experience of continuity of care and that will help them integrate the Essential Knowledge Domains and Nursing Actions into their practice of nursing.
eTV Learning Technologies: This is a 360 degree disaster management exercise named “Turbulent Sky.” The scenario begins with a video of an emergency medical scenario under which learners will be instructed to use emergency triage. This scenario is complete with an overview, theory, quiz and debrief.
Learn More About Medical Simulation
Lance Baily, BA, EMT-B, is the Founder & CEO of HealthySimulation.com, which he started while serving as the Director of the Nevada System of Higher Education’s Clinical Simulation Center of Las Vegas back in 2010. Lance is also the Founder and acting Advisor to the Board of SimGHOSTS.org, the world’s only non-profit organization dedicated to supporting professionals operating healthcare simulation technologies. His new co-edited Book: “Comprehensive Healthcare Simulation: Operations, Technology, and Innovative Practice” is available now. Lance’s background also includes serving as a Simulation Technology Specialist for the LA Community College District, EMS fire fighting, Hollywood movie production, rescue diving, and global travel. He lives with his wife Dr. Abigail Baily in Las Vegas, Nevada with their newborn daughter and two crazy dachshunds.
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