Essentials in Clinical Simulations Across the Health Professions

Go to Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/clinicalsimulations

Introduction

### Course Review: Essentials in Clinical Simulations Across the Health Professions **Overview:** Are you a healthcare professional looking to deepen your understanding of clinical simulations? Look no further than the **Essentials in Clinical Simulations Across the Health Professions**, a comprehensive 7-week course offered on Coursera. This course is designed to equip you with foundational knowledge and practical strategies for implementing clinical simulations in healthcare education. **Course Structure:** Each module in this course covers key components of clinical simulation, which are critical for both educators and practitioners in the health sector. As you progress, you will encounter various topics essential for forging effective simulation environments. Here's a breakdown of the modules: - **Module 1: Getting Started in Clinical Simulation** This introductory module sets the stage, guiding you through the process of integrating simulation pedagogy into your educational framework. By drawing parallels to a building project, you will explore fundamental concepts about simulation and its theoretical underpinnings, preparing you to lay a solid foundation for your simulation program. - **Module 2: INACSL Standards of Best Practice: Simulation** Familiarize yourself with the INACSL standards, critical for developing simulation-based education. This module not only explains the history and importance of these standards but also provides a structured plan for their implementation, ensuring that your simulation program aligns with best practices. - **Module 3: Implementing Simulation in the Curriculum** This module will guide you through best practices for incorporating simulation into courses or curricula, advocating for a strategic vision that involves all stakeholders. You will learn a six-step approach to curriculum development, along with key educational strategies relevant to simulation. - **Module 4: Developing a Simulation Center** An essential module for those considering the establishment of a simulation center. Here, you'll confront complex operational issues, including budgeting, staffing, scenario development, and more, offering you a preliminary understanding of what it takes to create a successful simulation center. - **Module 5: Basics of Debriefing in Simulation** Debriefing is a crucial part of the simulation process, and this module provides an overview of effective debriefing strategies and the importance of feedback. By learning various debriefing methods and communication techniques, you’ll enhance the overall learning experience for participants. - **Module 6: Evaluation Methods in Simulation** This module emphasizes the significance of evaluation in simulation. Understanding Kirkpatrick’s 4 Levels of Evaluation will enable you to assess the effectiveness of your simulation scenarios critically and make necessary adjustments to improve educational outcomes continually. - **Module 7: SPs in Simulation** Standardized Patients (SPs) play a pivotal role in simulations, and this final module covers their management, scenario development, and training. You will learn how to effectively recruit and train SPs, ensuring that your simulations are realistic and impactful. **Recommendation:** I highly recommend the **Essentials in Clinical Simulations Across the Health Professions** course for healthcare educators and professionals eager to integrate simulation-based learning into their practice. With its structured approach and comprehensive content, you will emerge with practical strategies and a solid foundation in clinical simulations that will significantly enrich your educational programs. Engaging with the provided resources and actively participating in the modules will enable you to apply what you learn directly to your professional context. Whether you are starting a new simulation program or looking to enhance existing ones, this course serves as an invaluable resource to navigate the complexities of clinical simulations effectively.

Syllabus

Getting Started in Clinical Simulation

This module will provide information on creating clinical simulations and foundational basics when a health professional educator is considering the use of simulation pedagogy into a course, program, and/or curriculum. Based on a building analogy, the learner will navigate the steps of getting started using the simulation pedagogy outlining major steps, basic fundamentals, and considerations to “get started.” In addition as an educator adopts this use of this pedagogy, major activities, concepts, a simulation theory, and research findings are discussed so the foundation of your simulation program is grounded in theory and best practices that can lead to policy implications for your simulation center.

During this module, you will learn about the historical perspectives in the development of the INACSL Standards of Best Practice: Simulation and the template which is consistent across each standard. We will discuss the importance (the WHY) of the standards in simulation-based education as guideposts in developing your simulation program. As we progress through each video, you will learn about each standard (The WHAT) with in-depth descriptions of criteria to meet the standard (the HOW). You will be able to identify where your simulation program is, relative to the standards. The module concludes with you developing a plan for implementation of the INACSL Standards of Best Practice: Simulation.

This module will provide information on best practices in the implementation of simulation in a course, program and/or curriculum. The learner will be introduced to the concept of a strategic vision for integration involving all stakeholders and a plan for assessment and evaluation. A six-step approach to curricular development is presented. In addition, learners are introduced to key simulation concepts, methodologies, and educational strategies.

Implementation of a simulation center is full of complex issues including staff, faculty, simulation scenario development, professional development, budget, equipment, assets, supplies, and much more. This module will provide information to begin the development of a simulation center that meets the standards of best practice for simulation operations. It will provide strategic thinking related to budgeting, revenue, equipment and assets. This is an introduction to center development and is not a comprehensive course.

This module provides an introduction to simulation debriefing. It includes information about how to facilitate debriefing, common simulation debriefing methods and the role of feedback in debriefing. In session one, a history of debriefing will be reviewed. The INACSL Standards of Best Practice: Simulation Debriefing will be reviewed, and the role of feedback will be presented. Session two includes several communication strategies that are important with debriefing. Finally, session three presents information about common healthcare debriefing methods.

In simulation evaluation, beginning with the end in mind is critical. Why was the simulation scenario written in the first place? What need is this simulation filling within your program? Or, if simulation is already being used, is some modification needed to get your simulation or course where you want it to be? Is my simulation program contributing to improved patient care, higher test scores for learners? Evaluations provide useful data for educators, deans, hospital administrators, stake holders, funding agencies, and yes, even the learners themselves. This module will introduce you to Kirkpatrick’s 4 Levels of Evaluation, a commonly used framework in simulation. We will consider some current existing tools to evaluate simulation experiences and facilitators. And we will provide suggestions for ways to evaluate your simulation program. A word about translating this evaluation approach to your own culture. My approach to evaluation is a very western model. Please consider what I say here and adapt this to fit with your own country or cultural approach to evaluation. Begin with the end in mind- as you start a simulation program. Evaluation is continuous and ongoing…we can evaluate the scenarios, teaching or facilitation of a scenario, student outcomes, etc.

Welcome to Module 7: SPs and Simulation. This module consists of four sessions. We will start this session by clarifying the term SP and introducing the Association of Standardized Patient Educators (ASPE) Standards of Best Practice (SOBP) which will be referenced throughout all of the sessions. Then I will discuss the role and function and SPs in simulation. The second session will focus on developing SP scenarios or cases. The third session will focus on recruiting SPs and training them for role portrayal. In the last session, I will discuss SP program management and opportunities for professional development for those training SPs and administering SP activities. So let’s get started.