Karla, a nursing instructor at Century College, recently had a last-minute emergency when a faculty member called in sick the evening before a scheduled clinical rotation. She had to quickly find an alternative assignment for the nursing students. Fortunately, Karla had previewed Unbound Scenarios, an online collection of nursing scenarios, and knew it would be the perfect fill-in activity.

Without access to Unbound Scenarios, Karla says she would have had to piece together a less meaningful assignment from their physical critical thinking workbook, or utilize free, less robust resources from their textbook publisher. However, with Unbound Scenarios she was able to easily select a relevant scenario on Term Labor and Delivery that aligned with that week’s learning objectives on antepartum care.

The scenario allowed students to initially work through the scenario independently and then collaborate with classmates, mimicking real nursing practice. Karla explained the benefits, saying, "I can go back to the list of scenarios to fill gaps in the curriculum or lesson plan, I have a consumable from the students that I can review, and I can see in advance if a scenario meets the specific lesson objectives."

Karla also noted the importance of identifying relevant patient cues and adapting care plans accordingly. "As nurses, you have to think critically and adapt based on your patient and any changes to their condition. There is no quick right answer, even in caring for patients with the same type of condition." Karla believes the structure of Unbound Scenarios, with its focus on the Clinical Judgment Measurement Model and the nursing process, will help students develop this critical thinking. In regards to how Unbound Scenarios would help students prepare for their board exams, she noted, “It’s exactly what the experts there were talking about on the Next Gen. There’s a lot of power in those six questions."

As Karla’s team starts reviewing their nursing curriculum for next year, she plans on advocating to incorporate more Unbound Scenarios simulations. She believes the structured approach to the nursing process, rationales and feedback, and variety of scenarios will better prepare students, stating "the more familiar the students get they’re gonna come out way ahead. I just think they’re gonna be so much better off if they get a lot more practice with them."