Examining the Effectiveness of a Novel Interprofessional Pediatric End-of-Life Simulation for New Graduate Nurses

Parents state that interactions with health care providers are the most important factor in their appraisal of a child's end-of-life (EOL) care. Despite requiring formal training in pre-licensure education, new graduate nurses lack clinical experience with pediatric patients at EOL. Interprofessional simulation can enhance knowledge, confidence, and communication in high-stakes clinical scenarios of low frequency and serves as an effective strategy to prepare nurses for these critical situations. Although historically underutilized, the role of the hospital chaplain can foster collaboration between disciplines in interprofessional simulation scenarios involving EOL care. As part of their residency program, pediatric new graduate nurses participated in a high-fidelity simulation involving the care of a child at EOL alongside an experienced hospital chaplain. Utilizing the Simulation Effectiveness Tool-Modified, all participants strongly agreed that group debriefing was the most effective component of the simulation in terms of increasing learning, clinical judgment, and personal reflection, citing the chaplain's participation in debriefing as key to its success. This evidence-based, quality improvement project demonstrates that the use of interprofessional simulation with the inclusion of hospital chaplaincy can effectively provide new nurses the clinical experience necessary to support holistic nursing care at the end of a child's life.