Using simulation to improve the medication administration skills of undergraduate nursing students.

This quasi-experimental pilot study examined simulation methods to improve nursing students' medication calculation and administration abilities.Approximately 25 percent of junior-level students in the nursing program who took a medication administration exam (MAE) failed in their first attempt. It was theorized that simulation could facilitate their success.Students in the control group (n = 79) attended a didactic medication administration review session; students in the intervention group (n = 79) participated in a medication administration simulation review session. All students took the MAE within a week of their review.The intervention group scored significantly higher (M = 95 percent, SD = 6.8) on the MAE than the control group (M = 90 percent, SD = 12.9) at the p = .004 level.The simulation facilitated student success by giving students a state-of-the-art contextual reference to apply when taking the MAE.