Newswise — CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA, and SAN DIEGO, CA, December 09, 2020 — Unbound Medicine®, a leader in knowledge management solutions for healthcare and the Organization of Associate Degree Nursing (OADN), the national advocate for community college nursing education, today launched OADN Virtual Simulation Reviews (VSR) – a structured and objective resource that assists nursing educators in identifying products that augment or replace clinical experiences.

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, nursing programs scrambled to continue clinical education while hospitals and clinics were closed to students. OADN member programs sought guidance on virtual simulation products that could augment or replace in-person clinical time.  Responding to the need, the OADN Simulation Task Force envisioned identified a need for a database of accurate virtual simulation product reviews that nursing educators could use to adjust their curricula during a time of rapid change.

Similarly, Unbound Medicine was listening to the healthcare community’s needs created by the pandemic and responding to calls for help. Early in the outbreak, Unbound developed Coronavirus Guidelines to curate and organize for clinicians the torrent of COVID-19 information emerging daily. Additionally, Unbound leveraged its partnerships with leading healthcare organizations and industry experts to provide critical COVID-19 resources for physicians, nurses and pharmacists – delivered via video, mobile apps, and the web. Hundreds of thousands of clinicians per day turn to Unbound to help provide the best treatment and care for patients and their families. 

During a meeting to discuss how each organization might further help in the crisis, the OADN and Unbound teams realized that combining OADN member knowledge with Unbound’s digital publishing expertise could uniquely serve the needs of the nursing community during this critical time.  OADN assembled a task force of nursing faculty and simulation specialists to evaluate virtual simulation products, and Unbound provided its informatics expertise and end-to-end publishing platform to create VSR. The partnership resulted in a rapid-response resource that is now freely available to nurse educators online.

"OADN sought a way to deliver trusted and comprehensive information to our members and the larger nurse educator community – quickly and efficiently," said Laura Schmidt, DNP, FNP-BC, President of OADN. "Leveraging OADN member expertise and Unbound’s unique end-to-end platform, we developed the needed resource in record time."

Virtual Simulation Review (VSR) is a structured database that helps nursing school leadership identify virtual simulation products suitable for curricular needs. Because replacement of clinical time is a necessity for many organizations during the pandemic, OADN VSR clearly delineates how selected virtual simulation products meet each of the eleven criteria outlined in the INACSL Standards of Best Practice: SimulationSM.

"Supporting nursing education wherever it is provided is central to the missions of OADN and Unbound Medicine,." said Bill Detmer, MD, CEO of Unbound Medicine. "We are honored to partner with OADN to deliver assistance to members and the larger nursing education community during this challenging time."

“Nursing faculty, familiar with best practices in simulation or not, were challenged with replacing clinical in a matter of weeks. This resource equips faculty to selectively deep dive into virtual simulation products to choose the best fit for their learners. And, by also viewing the products through the lens of best practice, clinical replacement can be designed in a way to ensure positive student outcomes.”  Rebecca Cockrell, MSN, RN, Chair of OADN Sim Task Force.

About Unbound Medicine

Unbound Medicine builds digital products that educate students and answer clinical questions at the point of need. With expertise in medical informatics, health technology, and medical publishing, our team has delivered innovative mobile and web solutions to healthcare institutions and individual clinicians for more than 20 years. Additional information is available at www.unboundmedicine.com.

About Organization of Associate Degree Nursing

OADN is the national voice and a pivotal resource for community college nursing education and the associate degree pathway.  We work to expand networks that promote leadership, collaboration, and advocacy to further enrich nursing education and the communities we serve. Online at www.oadn.org.

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