Using Combined Tabletop and Simulation Activities to Improve Nursing Students' Attitudes About Quality Improvement: A Feasibility Study.

Nursing students' attitudes about quality improvement (QI) reflect poor understanding of its importance. In a mixed-method interventional feasibility study, students received instruction about QI processes, plus information about factors contributing to central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) rates at a hypothetical hospital. Experimental group students observed a high-fidelity simulation bedside report for a CLABSI-affected patient. Both groups independently completed tabletop QI exercises to solve the CLABSI problem and had equivalent improvement in attitudes. Joint debriefing revealed how experimental group students developed greater understanding of interrelated, system-wide contributing factors. Hybrid learning activities with tabletop and simulation positively influence students' attitudes about QI.