In May, Suzie Kardong-Edgren, Joanna “Jody” DeMeyer Endowed Chair in Nursing, spoke at the grand re-opening of the Simulation Practice in Nursing (SPRING) Center for Simulation at Chung Ang University School of Nursing in Seoul, South Korea. The center had been closed for extensive remodeling.
The evening before the re-opening celebration, Kardong-Edgren had a special evening class with the nursing doctoral students of Chung Ang University to discuss research needs for nursing in simulation. The experience with the students was like no other Kardong-Edgren had seen before. Kardong-Edgren explains why the experience, and nursing education in Korea, was so unusual:
“The nursing students I witnessed in the simulation labs seemed very absorbed in their learning. Then I found out why!” said Kardong-Edgren. “In 2012, The Korean Board of Nursing passed a new directive. They can spot check any nursing program at any time. They can randomly select and check any student on any skill students have completed and been “checked off” on. If one student does not pass, the whole class can be held back from moving forward in the curriculum and the school be put on probation or can lose its accreditation. No students can graduate till the school is re-accredited.”
Kardong-Edgren is internationally recognized as an expert in health care simulation, was inducted as an Academy of Nursing Education Fellow in 2010 and has twice been the recipient of the Deborah Spunt Endowed Lectureship in Simulation for the National League for Nursing. Kardong-Edgren serves as the Research Advisor of the International Nursing Association of Clinical Simulation and Learning. She was awarded the National League for Nursing Excellence in Research Award for 2013, which recognizes outstanding nurse researchers who have made enduring contributions to the field of nursing education research. Her numerous grants, publications and presentations speak volumes about her expertise and dedication to effective nursing and health care education.