The focus of this dissertation is to explore the knowledge that nursing education students access and use during a high fidelity patient simulator experience. Thirty-six nursing students, in groups, participated in a high fidelity patient simulation followed by a stimulated recall procedure wherein students viewed a video recording of themselves and when asked at five different times "What were you thinking at that moment" typed their responses on a computer. The purpose was to determine the explicit knowledge (EK) and tacit knowledge (TK) activated during five events. Results indicated that certain events activated EK, some TK, some both. Activated knowledge was often insufficient to carry out relevant procedures. Results also suggested that opportunities to activate TK created cognitive load issues for the students. Moreover, knowledge activated varied considerably depending on what students were doing during the simulation. In addition, the innovated stimulated recall procedure worked very well. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]