Experiential Education About Patient Death Designed for Undergraduate Nursing Students

New graduate nurses are unprepared for patient death, leading to a potential negative impact on patient care and an increase in turnover. This study investigated the use of high-fidelity simulation to teach about patient death. Senior nursing students (n = 124) were randomly assigned to rescue or failure-to-rescue scenarios. Outcomes included knowledge and emotional affect. Data analyses included comparative statistics, t-tests, and two-way analysis of variance. Both groups had equal knowledge gain. The failure-to-rescue group had significantly lower emotional affect following simulation but was equal to the rescue group following debriefing.