The role of learning through simulation, its perceived benefits to student learning and its efficacy in promoting the contextualization of essential clinical skills

The use of simulation is well established learning strategy in nursing and there has been considerable interest in its impact on skills acquisition. The acquisition of clinical skills is an importance component of learning to be a nurse and the issue of enhancing skills development through the contextualization of these skills is judged to be central to effective learning. While it will be evident that many authors contend that it has many benefits as a method of promoting learning and development in clinical skills, doubt will be raised as to how transferrable the skills learnt in this environment are to clinical practice. A degree of caution will be injected against the seeming assumption that this is a one size fits all learning strategy.