An Intervention to Improve Nursing Teamwork Using Virtual Simulation

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to test the use of virtual simulation to improve teamwork among nursing staff. Using a quasi-experimental design, nursing staff (n = 43) from one patient care unit participated in a 1-hr session, which focused on common nursing teamwork problems. The overall mean teamwork scores improved from pre- (M = 3.25, SD = 0.58) to post-intervention (M = 3.49, SD = 0.67, p < .012). The intervention also had large (0.60 ≤ d ≤ 0.97) and significant effects on the measures of three teamwork subscales (i.e., trust, team orientation, and backup).