Villanova University M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing (FCN) Associate Professor Sunny Hallowell, PhD, APRN, PPCNP-BC, a pediatric nurse practitioner and an expert in breastfeeding and neonatal ICU (NICU) nursing, has developed the Neonatal Intensive Care Virtual Simulation Game, the first of several such games she hopes to develop as a 2021 Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation Scholar. Dr. Hallowell, whose work was funded by both the Villanova University M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing Research Development Grant and The Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, focuses on simulating a clinical experience using a health equity framework that promotes undergraduate students’ application of knowledge, clinical reasoning and communication skills.
For her project, Inclusive Clinical Advocacy - Responsible Education (ICARE-VGS), Dr. Hallowell explains, “The goals are to empower students to be clinical change agents and problem solvers, facile at approaching patient care using a health equity lens, in order to improve patient outcomes for the diverse communities of children and families we serve.”
A combination of frameworks was utilized by Dr. Hallowell, including the Tanner Model, Jeffries, and Kolb Learning theories, to provide socioemotionally safe opportunities for students to learn from the decisions they make within each game.
Dr. Hallowell was supported by her two mentors - FCN’s Professor Elizabeth Burgess Dowdell, PhD, RN, AFN-C, FAAN, an expert in child safety behaviors in children and adolescents, and Oregon Health & Science University School of Nursing’s Professor Emerita, Christine Tanner, PhD, RN, ANEF, FAAN, a Macy National Foundation Scholar Mentor and a national leader in nursing education innovation and scholarship.