Public health nursing student home visit preparation: the role of simulation in increasing confidence.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the role of simulation in preparing senior nursing students for their first home visit and to determine comfort and confidence levels of these students as they prepare for their first home visits. This exploratory study used a convenience sample of public health nursing students (n = 115). A pretest posttest design evaluated the effectiveness of the simulation using a 5-point Likert scale to detect changes in student confidence. Significant differences were noted on the majority of mean scores (p <.001) post-simulation. This approach could also be used to prepare newly hired home health care nurses and inexperienced nurses who are making the transition to home care from another aspect of nursing practice.