At the beginning of the 21st century, the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning (INACSL) advocated the promotion of simulation science as a teaching method for enhancing nursing education quality, leading to progress in high-fidelity simulations (HFS) (Sittner et al., 2015). With the global standard of healthcare continuously rising and the medical environment evolving, public awareness of safety and rights has increased significantly, resulting in a gradual decrease in opportunities for nursing students to experience and practice in clinical settings (Zeng et al., 2023). In this context, HFS has emerged as an ideal alternative to traditional clinical practice (Tomietto et al., 2020). Currently, HFS teaching is widely used in nursing education (Agu et al., 2021). In 2006, HFS was already being used to replace some clinical practice activities in five states in the United States of America, with a replacement rate of 10% in Florida and 16 states expressing approval for the use of HFS as a replacement of clinical practice (Wood and Toronto, 2012). In California, up to a rate of 25% of clinical training activities can be substituted with HFS (Gates et al., 2012). HFS operates through computer-controlled simulators, accurately exhibiting signs and symptoms.

HFS involves using computer-controlled simulators that accurately exhibit signs and symptoms, creating a realistic simulation process that provides learners with a high level of experience interactivity and authenticity (Au et al., 2016, Goldsworthy, 2012). Accordingly, HFS teaching addresses nursing students’ restricted skill and professional learning, providing them with the opportunity to engage in safe and repeatable learning and training. It specifically provides remarkable fidelity, low risk and high repeatability (Chu and Chen, 2016) and can be used to compensate for the lack of nursing clinical teaching resources, promote the transformation of classroom knowledge into practical knowledge and improve the clinical skills of nursing students. It is thus no wonder that HFS teaching has been applied in various nursing disciplines.

Recent years have seen a surge in articles on HFS teaching and learning and several systematic reviews probing into HFS teaching effectiveness, albeit the latter still vary widely in levels of evidence and methodological and reporting quality. Moreover, no umbrella review of systematic reviews addressing HFS teaching has been conducted. Therefore, this article reports on an umbrella review of the effectiveness of HFS teaching in nursing education. The hope is to support the continuous improvement of practitioners’ implementation of HFS interventions.