Clinical Simulation in Undergraduate Nursing Programs as a Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic: Protocol for an Integrative Review

The COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a standstill, forcing businesses to close or adjust operations to online platforms. Nursing Educational Institutions (NEIs) were similarly affected by the implementation of public health measures to reduce the transmission of COVID-19, leading to abrupt lockdowns and campus closures, reduced or no face-to-face time in labs, and a sudden loss of clinical placement sites for students. To combat this problem, NEIs had to adjust their conventional practices and find alternative, novel approaches to fulfill the required hands-on lab teaching and clinical practice hours for their students. Many NEIs turned to simulation to close this gap for nursing students. Therefore, this integrative review seeks to explore what innovative simulation strategies were used during the pandemic era and the lessons that can be learned from these innovations. Key Terms: COVID-19, simulation, innovative strategies, undergraduate nursing