International Journal of Healthcare Simulation

Background and aim:

Clinical placements are an essential part of physiotherapy education, providing students with the opportunity to gain practical experience in clinical settings. Due to the limited number of available placements [1], and the fact that simulated placements have emerged as an innovative approach to placement experience [2], we co-produced (HEI and simulation-based education provider) a placement programme for 80 BSc and 30 MSc undergraduate physiotherapy students. We describe the structure of the well evaluated and replicable large-scale simulated placement.

Activity:

Each student was provided with 40 simulated placement hours over one week, this was divided between hands on facilitated simulation, with follow-up synthesis and reflection of the learning outcomes. The facilitated sessions with actor role players centred around authentic scenarios which were level-matched and closely aligned with the HCPC Physiotherapy Standards of Proficiency [3]. The scenarios reflected the diverse society in which we live, with actors taking on roles of patients/relatives and colleagues, from a range of backgrounds, with differing demographics and characteristics, presenting in a broad range of situations. Students were able to reflect on their interactions, before, during and after the simulation; they received objective feedback from the actor, from the unique perspective of patient/relative or colleague, they received feedback from their peers and from the facilitator.

Findings:

The simulated placement, for both sets of students, was a resounding success. Both groups (BSc and MSc) worked through 10 scenarios. The larger BSc group required 20 separate facilitated sessions and 40 actors. For the MSc group, there were 5 facilitated sessions and 10 actors. As always, sustainability of programmes is linked to budget. Although a quantified analysis is yet to be completed, the time taken to organize the placement, write matched scenarios with clear learning outcomes, deliver the placement and evaluate, is time consuming. Continued co-production with shared facilitation (HEI and education provider) is a potential way forward, with re-use of scenarios and rotations; it is highly replicable, with a team of experienced facilitators and actors.

Conclusion:

Simulated clinical placements provide physiotherapy MSc and BSc students with a valuable, realistic learning experience, in a safe and supportive, facilitator-led environment. The placement was found to be effective in enhancing students’ communication skills, professionalism, empathy, and compassion. Involving actors was found to be an effective way of immersing students in realistic clinical scenarios. This is a reusable resource, so considering ‘return on investment’ would suggest repeating for future students.

Ethics statement:

Authors confirm that all relevant ethical standards for research conduct and dissemination have been met. The submitting author confirms that relevant ethical approval was granted, if applicable.