International Journal of Healthcare Simulation

Background:

Second-year Operating Department Practitioner (ODP) students in an English University need to undertake a teaching activity lasting 10 minutes on any topic not necessarily health related as part of their undergraduate curriculum as a formative assessment. ODPs practise in high acuity settings including theatre and intensive care, and are usually key members of a hospital’s resuscitation team. Teaching strategies for resilience is required when working in changing environments. To combine these two elements, an alternative approach was offered to replace the teaching activity. Student ODPs were offered how to create and lead a simulation activity based on ODP practice in lieu of the 10-minute activity as part of a pilot project. The TALK [2] tool was chosen as the mode of debriefing and focuses on improving interprofessional communication and the recognition of behaviours and strategies that are successful and should be adopted.

Methods:

Twenty-eight students volunteered to undertake the pilot. The students supported by a simulation and ODP lecturer over a day were introduced to experiential learning, and simulation education approaches including design, facilitation [1], and debriefing. In pairs, the students created designs and were taught to use the Talk Framework [2].

Results:

The students completed an online evaluation tool in relation to their experience as educators. The students reported that they felt more confident with the difference between teaching and facilitating. The students felt they understood the stages of writing for education and enjoyed the session on learning outcomes. The students stated that teaching using simulation was more useful than randomly teaching any skill as this links to their practice. Through a discussion at the end of the sessions, the students felt that in practice they saw aspects of patient care that they do not understand or were unable to seek clarification about, and TALK [2] would help. The students also felt that the TALK [2] tool should be introduced in year one.

Conclusion:

From the online evaluation and subsequent discussions, the project team has met with the Course Director and discussions are underway to review the current assessments for teaching. The students’ feedback about the TALK [2] tool being used as a strategy to learn how to speak to practice supervisors or other members of the healthcare team has brought about an immediate change. The tool will be used across all first-year ODP students from September 2022 with further research activities.

References

1. Persico L, Belle A, DiGregorio H, Wilson-Keates B, Shelton C. Healthcare simulation standards of best practice^TM facilitation. Clinical Simulation in Nursing. 2021;58:22–26.

2. Diaz-Navarro C, Leon-Castelao E, Hadfield A, Pierce S, Szyld D. Clinical debriefing: TALK© to learn and improve together in healthcare environments. Trends in Anaesthesia and Critical Care. 2021;40:4–8.