International Journal of Healthcare Simulation

Background:

Paramedic students have had to overcome the restrictions COVID-19 with many of their clinical skills moving online, limiting opportunities to engage with clinical practice partners, a key requirement of their professional programme. Social distancing has been challenging to overcome and the paramedic teaching team’s solution was to offer the University underground carpark to stage a simulated Casualty Clearing Point for a Major Incident Martian Attack!

Aim:

The aim of the session was to reconceptualize our simulation practice at the university level and to

Engage our students with an authentic, reflective, and clinical skills-based assessment experience

To draw upon lessons learned to improve our processes and guidelines for stakeholders involve in clinical skills assessments

To enhance the student learning with early familiarization and ‘hands on’ practice with the equipment utilized in the field of paramedic science

Design:

The paramedic teaching team created ‘Martian Attack!’ a short video to set the scene for the tasks the first-year students teams need to accomplish. The students were divided into pairs where they were tasked to triage at ‘stations’ treating mannequins with simulated injuries under time constraints. This was followed by demonstrating immobilization techniques and extracting a weighted mannequin from an enclosed space using a Saviour Technical Stretcher (STS). All these skills require a combined improvised approach towards casualty evacuation. Students were observed by critical care professionals and offered feedback. ‘There is only so much simulation that can be done in a room so I thought it was great to be able to get out and experience a “Real Life” event where we could put the skills and knowledge from the previous weeks into practice in a supported environment’. Student J.

Implementation outline:

Three-hundred-and-sixty-degree film clips captured these simulated scenarios and debriefs and were added on a virtual platform hosted by Panopto so that students could reflect on the scenarios in their own time to aid their learning and reflection. The film clips made accessible by a range of technologies, from google cardboards to OCULUS Quest, added the high-fidelity aspect of realism to the student’s learning experience. The next steps will be to consult with our practice partners to streamline and identify further areas of practice that will enhance the skill mix of students on placement.