Briefing for a clinical simulation in nursing school is an information session that sets the stage for a meaningful simulation activity. Improper or inadequate briefing practices can impact the quality of learning nursing students receive through clinical simulation experience. The purpose of this study, guided by the novice to expert and social cognitive theories, was to explore accelerated baccalaureate nursing (ABN) students' perceptions of their briefing experiences and how the briefing experiences influenced the acquisition of clinical skills and knowledge. Twelve ABN students from a school of nursing in one of the Northeastern states were interviewed through e-mail correspondence. Thematic coding was conducted on the data and the themes derived were inconsistencies in briefing practices, a sense of uncertainty, and inefficient acquisition of clinical skills and knowledge. The inconsistencies in the practice of briefing varied between courses and instructors and improper briefing generated a sense of uncertainty among participants and feelings of ineffective acquisition of clinical skills and knowledge from simulations. The results will enable nurse educators in the local setting to improve briefing protocols and adhere to the briefing standards to facilitate students' learning. The use of rigorous research designs involving a larger sample size from multiple research sites in different geographical regions is recommended for future research to examine if this problem is relevant to all nursing schools. The implications for positive social change include the potential impact of proper briefing practices in enabling ABN students to acquire clinical skills and knowledge effectively so that they can safely provide quality care to their patients.