International Journal of Healthcare Simulation

Background:

A simulation-based programme was developed for the Medical Support Workers (MSW) within the Trust. The MSW role was created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, providing an opportunity for doctors seeking GMC registration to gain clinical experience within a supervised NHS placement [1]. This project explored the MSWs’ perceptions and previous experience of simulation and their overall confidence working within the NHS before and after the teaching programme. The aim was to assess if simulation is a useful tool to help international medical graduates transition into working in the NHS.

Methods:

29 MSWs (28 of whom were from Myanmar) worked in acute and medical specialties across the Trust, performing roles including: writing in medical notes, taking collateral histories, examining patients under supervision, procedures such as venepuncture and writing discharge summaries. Each MSW was invited to attend three training days between January and March 2022. We provided a programme incorporating medical and surgical simulation, communication workshops, and procedural skills, supported by human factors teaching. We delivered the sessions in our learning and research building, including our simulation suite. We collated data by sending out pre- and post-training surveys. There were 22 and 18 responses to the two initial surveys and 20 responses to the post-training survey.

Results:

44% had prior experience of clinical simulation and only 9% had previous experience working as a doctor in the NHS. On further analysis, 50% felt either quite unconfident, or neither confident or unconfident working in the NHS. A minority felt confident dealing with medical emergencies (18%) and surgical emergencies (13%) and with their communication (32%) and leadership skills (23%). In the post-simulation feedback, 100% reported that simulation was a useful method to help doctors transition into working in the NHS and felt it improved their confidence in the workplace. Furthermore, 100% stated that the simulation sessions had changed their clinical practice and addressed their learning needs. The participants reported that the sessions had improved their stepwise approach to emergencies (100%), communication (95%), teamwork (100%), leadership (70%), and decision-making skills (95%).

Conclusion:

This project demonstrated that simulation is a popular and useful educational resource in helping improve international doctors’ confidence when transitioning into working in the NHS. Given that 100% of our participants wanted further simulation sessions, our Trust plans to employ a dedicated MSW simulation fellow to support further cohorts.

Reference

1. Temporary Medical Support Worker (MSW) Secondary Care – Job description and person specification. NHS England and NHS Improvement. https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2020/12/msw-secondary-care-jd-march-22.pdf [Accessed 17/06/2022]