Utilizing simulation to prepare nursing students to coordinate care through transitions

•Nurses play a crucial role in providing care coordination for patients especially during transitions; however, nurses are not being adequately prepared to fulfill this role.•Through the inclusion of a simulation scenario in a prelicensure nursing program, students engaged in a practical application of care coordination for a patient during a transition.•Prelicensure nursing education programs could replicate this simulation scenario to assist in preparing nursing students for their future roles in practice. Effective care coordination and transitions are critical factors for patients to improve health outcomes. Providing prelicensure nursing students with the opportunity to demonstrate practical application of these concepts will assist in preparing them for entry into practice. This article discusses how an associate degree nursing program instituted a simulation that focused on coordination of care for a patient transitioning through multiple settings. This realistic experience allowed students to engage in clinical reasoning and judgements through the role of the observer and the nurse. Changes since COVID-19 pandemic are discussed.