Enhancing Clinical Reasoning Through Simulation Debriefing: A Multisite Study

Aim: The aim of this research was to replicate Dreifuerst's 2012 findings of enhanced clinical reasoning scores using a structured debriefing: Debriefing for Meaningful Learning (DML).

Background: The direct effect of debriefing on clinical reasoning is not well studied. The nursing education literature supports debriefing as a reflective dialogue necessary to enhance clinical reasoning.

Method: A quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest, repeated measure research design was used to evaluate nursing students' clinical reasoning using the Health Sciences Reasoning Test (HSRT).

Results: The change in HSRT mean scores was determined to be significant for the intervention group at the .05 level and insignificant for the control group. The change in HSRT mean scores between the intervention and control groups was determined to be significant at the .10 level.

Conclusion: Nursing students who had the DML debriefing scored significantly higher in their clinical reasoning than nursing students who had usual and customary debriefing.