Evaluation of Nursing Student Perspectives of a Simulated Smart Pump

Medical devices are incorporating information technology into complex user interfaces, increasing the need for training and testing. However, the actual devices are costly to purchase and maintain. Participants in this study programmed a simulated and actual smart medication infusion pump and completed a user satisfaction survey. The number of features accessed successfully and the number of errors made during interface programming with the simulator and pump were compared. Differences between the pump and simulator show where the simulator needs to be refined to increase fidelity. Simulating devices provides a low-cost platform for nursing education and for device and interface development.