The Art of Discharge Planning: Teaching Nursing Students to Address Disparities Through Simulation

Background: Discharge planning is crucial to ensuring that patients’ care and recovery needs are addressed. A new nurse graduate must be prepared to enter a clinical practice environment in which hospitals face penalties for patient readmissions. Methods: Student nurses were assigned simulated patients with a variety of health disparities and health-care diagnoses to address. A qualitative research design evaluated student perceptions of discharge planning and cultural competency. Results: Students found the simulation to be vital to their clinical experience. Students were able to develop discharge teaching that was culturally congruent for each simulated patient. Conclusions: Incorporating discharge teaching simulation into the nursing curriculum can positively impact students’ ability to transition to clinical practice and build confidence in a skill that is rarely incorporated into nursing curricula.