Bringing Experience to Life: RN to BSN Students Connect Through Simulation

Last week, RN to BSN students at the University of Virginia School of Nursing came together for a day of in-person simulation. The experience offered space to validate prior learning, connect with classmates, and engage in hands-on scenarios that strengthen the skills central to contemporary nursing practice.

Participants, all registered nurses, have completed the first year of the program’s two-year, part-time hybrid curriculum. The simulation gives students the opportunity to apply and build on the knowledge and clinical competencies they have developed through their diploma or associate degree programs and in their professional roles.

Nurses in the Charlottesville, Richmond, and Northern Virginia cohorts traveled to Grounds from across the Commonwealth to take part. For many, it was a unique opportunity to meet their peers in person. Introductions quickly shifted into face-to-face collaboration, as students worked together in team-based simulation scenarios.

Throughout the day, students strengthened communication, leadership, clinical judgment, and interprofessional teamwork skills. In a safe and supportive environment, they integrated evidence-based practice, clinical reasoning, and patient-centered care, drawing on their experience and learning from one another in real time.

The experience also fostered meaningful connections. Students brought perspectives from hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities, community health settings, and specialty areas, enriching each scenario with real-world insight. Many described the day as an opportunity to build professional relationships and networks that will extend well beyond graduation.

The simulation validates 42 transfer credits awarded for previous nursing education, serving as an important bridge between students' prior nursing preparation and the advanced competencies emphasized within BSN nursing education.

For a program designed to meet students where they are, this one-day immersion brings learning and community together. It reinforces what students have achieved while supporting what comes next, both in the program and in their practice.