| This study sought to develop a valid and reliable instrument to identify the characteristics of computer-based, interactive, and asynchronous virtual patient simulations that nurse educators identify as important for adoption, the subsequent curricular integration strategies faculty employed, and any relationships between the influential features for adoption and the ways in which the adopted virtual patients are integrated. The data collected with the Virtual Patient Adoption and Integration in Nursing (VPAIN) survey instrument were used to conduct exploratory factor analysis, MANOVA, ANOVA, and correlation analysis.;Through exploratory factor analysis, 55.6% of the variance in the VPAIN adoption subscale data was accounted for by the nine adoption factors identified: Trustworthiness, Worldbuilding, Pedagogy, Differentiation, Encouragement, Clarity, Evaluation, Administrative Pressure, and Visibility. The factor analysis also identified five factors within the integration subscale, which accounted for 53.3% of the variance: Hour Replacement, Intensive Integration, Leveling, Preparation, and Benchmarking.;MANOVA and follow-up ANOVA were conducted to identify significant effects between the adoption and integration factors and the number of years teaching, faculty status, institution type, course delivery method, semester length, virtual patient funding, number of semesters of use, and the nursing program for which the program was adopted. A correlation analysis was conducted to identify relationships between the adoption and integration factors. |
