History of South Carolina Nursing Education Simulation Alliance

 

The South Carolina Nursing Education Simulation Alliance was created with support from a Promise of Nursing South Carolina grant, administered by the National Student Nurses Foundation. Dr. Melanie Cason of MUSC College of Nursing was awarded this competitive grant in September 2017 based on her project proposal to create a more cohesive nursing education simulation community in South Carolina, revise the position statement from the State Board of Nursing and to provide an annual educational conference.

 

Dr. Cason had served as the Simulation Nurse Educator for several years in an alliance that was physician driven and after meeting with simulation nursing educators across the state, wanted nursing to have a stronger voice and an organization of their own.

Believing that, by sharing and collaborating across all colleges and schools of nursing, nursing education in the state could go farther with developing simulation expertise.

 

The project “Taking Student Learning Higher with Simulation Collaboration” included the following goals.

 

* To develop and maintain a South Carolina Simulation Alliance to improve, coordinate, and

   expand the use of simulation in nursing education.

 

* To develop a set of evidence-based practices that expand the science of simulation in nursing

   education as measured by increased measurement of outcomes with valid and reliable

   instruments.

 

The first step was to contact established simulation leaders from each area of the state to serve on the steering committee. Dr. Cason contacted Dr. Martha “Kay” Lawrence at USC-Aiken, Dr. Jean Ellen Zavertnik at Clemson University, Dr. Rachel Onello at USC-Columbia (and Dr. Crystal Murillo), and Barbara Nickles at Greenville Technical College.  The Mission and Vision was established, an annual conference was planned, and a statewide survey was developed by the team to establish a baseline in 2018. Following numerous visits to the Advisory Council on Nursing Education at the State Board of Nursing SC, the alliance was granted membership on the committee.

 

Statewide survey results were presented and gaps in knowledge and opportunity identified. Dr. Onello and Dr. Cason revised and created an evidence-based position statement for the State Board of Nursing in South Carolina on the Use of Simulation in Nursing Education which was approved in July 2018. 

 

The first South Carolina Nursing Education Alliance conference was held at Trident Technical College in July 2018. The annual survey was repeated in 2019 and revealed increases in the use of best practices and an increase in Certified Healthcare Simulation Education certifications in the state.

 

Non-profit status (501) was applied for with the Secretary of State and granted in 2019, a non-profit cash management account has been set up to receive donations, conference sponsor fees, and to manage costs.