Role-Play versus Standardised Patient Simulation for Teaching Interprofessional Communication in Care of the Elderly for Nursing Students

Nursing students' views of the impact of geriatric role-play workshops on professional competencies: survey

BACKGROUND

Simulation and role-playing are the most commonly used experiential teaching methods in nursing education. The purpose of the study was to describe the impact of geriatric role-play workshops on the knowledge and skills of nursing students. We set one hypothesis: Students believe that learning through experiential role-play improves their professional competencies.

METHODS

We conducted a descriptive quantitative study, collecting the data with a questionnaire. The study included 266 first-year nursing students who underwent 10 h of role-playing workshops in geriatric nursing in 2021. The questionnaire was compiled for the purpose of the present study, and its' internal consistency was 0.844 (n = 27). We used descriptive and correlation statistical analysis.

RESULTS

Respondents were convinced that they gained and consolidated knowledge and connected theory with practice through role-playing. They especially emphasized the abilities they acquired to communicate in a group, engage in constructive reflection, be more sensitive to one's own emotions, and feel empathy.

CONCLUSIONS

Respondents understand the use of the role-play method as an effective form of learning in geriatric nursing. They are convinced that they will be able to use the experience when working with an elderly patient in a clinical setting.

The Spiritual Supporter Scale as a New Tool for Assessing Spiritual Care Competencies in Professionals: Design, Validation, and Psychometric Evaluation

This study aimed to design, validate and standardize the Spiritual Supporter (SpSup) Scale, a tool designed to assess competency to provide spiritual care including knowledge, sensitivity to spiritual needs and spiritual support skills. This instrument can be used by all those engaged in or training for caregiving roles. The study was conducted in Poland in the Polish language. The SpSup Scale demonstrates high overall reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.88), a satisfactory diagnostic accuracy (0.79), and a satisfactory discriminatory power of the items. Given the psychometric properties of SpSup Scale demonstrated here, the scale is recommended for the assessment of the competency to provide spiritual care in both clinical and research settings in Poland.

Community-engaged training in informed consent

Inadequate training in the interpersonal skills of conducting informed consent conversations has long been noted as a challenge for clinical research recruitment and retention. To address this critical gap, Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute developed regular trainings for clinical research coordinators and other research staff on the practical skills of communicating informed consent using community members as simulated patients for role-playing exercises. In this paper, we assess the reach and effectiveness of these trainings and describe the impact of employing community stakeholders as simulated patients. We found that by embedding community members in the trainings, clinical research coordinators get to hear diverse perspectives, experience a range of patient responses, and learn from the lived experience of the communities that research tries to serve. Utilizing community members as trainers also helps to dismantle traditional power dynamics by demonstrating the organization's commitment to inclusiveness and community engagement. Based on these findings, we suggest that training on informed consent include more simulated consent exercises that feature interaction with community members who can provide real-time feedback to coordinators.

Student standardized patients versus occupational standardized patients for improving clinical competency among TCM medical students: a 3-year prospective randomized study

BACKGROUND

Standardized patient (SP) simulations are well-recognized patterns for practicing clinical skills and interactions. Our previous study showed that a simulation program using occupational SP for Traditional Chinese Medicine (OSP-TCMs) was efficient, however, a high cost and time-intensive nature have limited its use. TCM postgraduates trained as student SPs (SSP-TCMs) present a potentially cost-effective alternative. The purpose of this study was to examine and determine whether SSP simulation offered more benefits over didactic training alone for improving clinical competency among TCM medical students, and conduct a multifaceted analysis comparing SSP-TCMs and OSP-TCMs.

METHODS

This was a prospective, single-blinded, randomized controlled trial. Fourth-year TCM undergraduates were recruited as trainees from the Clinical Medical School, Chengdu University of TCM. Data were collected from September 2018 to December 2020. Trainees were randomly divided into the three following groups: traditional method training group, OSP-TCM training group, and SSP-TCM training group (1:1:1). At the end of a 10-week curriculum, trainees received a two-station examination comprising a systematic online knowledge test and an offline clinical performance examination. Post-training and post-exam questionnaires were administered to collect feedback from these trainees.

RESULTS

Students assigned to the SSP-TCM training and OSP-TCM training groups received favorable marks for the "systematic knowledge test" and "TCM clinical skills" (2018, P^a=0.018, P^b=0.042; 2019, P^a=0.01, P^b=0.033; 2020, P^a=0.035, P^b=0.039) compared to the TM trainees. Additionally, trainees in the intervention groups demonstrated a positive post-training edge in scores of "medical records" (2018, P^a=0.042, P^b=0.034; 2019, P^a=0.032, P^b=0.042; 2020, P^a=0.026, P^b=0.03) and "TCM syndrome differentiation and therapeutic regimen" (2018, P^b=0.032; 2019, P^a=0.037, P^b=0.024; 2020, P^a=0.036, P^b=0.043). For the simulation encounter assessment given by SP-TCMs, OSP-TCM trainees and SSP-TCM trainees scored higher than TM trainees (2018, P^a=0.038, P^b=0.037; 2019, P^a=0.024, P^b=0.022; 2020, P^a=0.019, P^b=0.021). For the feedback questionnaires, the students in TM group provided less positive feedback for training efficacy and test performance compared to those in the SSP-TCM and OSP-TCM groups. The trainees responded that the training effect of clinical simulations was similar between the SSP-TCM and OSP-TCM groups. SSP-TCMs were more responsive to unexpected emergencies (P^a=0.022, P^b>0.05) and more likely to encourage questioning (P^a=0.029, P^b>0.05) but tended to provide implied hints (P^c=0.015) and utilize medical jargon (P^c=0.007) as compared to OSP-TCMs.

CONCLUSION

Simulation training for SSP-TCMs and OSP-TCMs showed great benefits for enhancing clinical competency. SSP-TCM simulation was feasible, practical, and cost-effective, and may serve as an alternative method to OSP-TCM simulation.

Action Research on Applying Compound Stimulus Approach to Improve Empathetic Communication: The Case of Physical Therapy Students

(1) Background: Empathetic communicative skills are the first step in establishing a good therapeutic relationship. The purpose of this study is to understand the effectiveness of improving the empathetic communicative skills applied to obtain accurate and precise information from patients via compound stimulus-drama in education. (2) Methods: A cross-sectional, one-group, pre- and post-test design was used for this study. In the two-day workshop, four clinical physiotherapists acted as tutors for the "Compound Stimulus-Drama in Education" module and assessed students' performances. The Standard Patient Rating Scale (SPRS), Objective Structured Clinical Examination Scale (OSCES), Professional and Communication Self-Assessment Scale (PCSS), Patients' Information (PI), and the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) were used to assess the students' empathy scores and communication skills, before and after the course. (3) Results: Fifty-seven students participated in this study. The results showed that there were significant improvements in the SPRS, OSCES, PCSS, PI, and JSE (p < 0.05). Both the quantitative data and the participants' reflection feedback suggest that this novel module was more helpful than traditional clinical practice courses for improving clinical empathy communication skills. (4) Conclusions: This study provided an innovative teaching model and assessment tools for learning clinic empathetic communicative skills in future education training.

Effectiveness of interprofessional simulation-based education programs to improve teamwork and communication for students in the healthcare profession: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

BACKGROUND

Factors, such as the dynamic and variable structure of healthcare services, the introduction of new care models and technological developments, and requirements for patient safety, quality, and accreditation, require new content, goals, and models in the education and practice of health disciplines. Curriculum studies should be planned by today's requirements and competencies to be gained in interprofessional simulation-based education.

OBJECTIVES

This systematic review and meta-analysis study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of interprofessional simulation-based education programs for improving teamwork and communication among students in the healthcare profession.

METHODS

In this study, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Springer Link, Science Direct, Ovid, PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest, EBSCOhost/CINAHL Complete, and MEDLINE databases were searched without year limitations until April 2022. Two independent researchers reviewed the studies and analyzed the data. Two researchers evaluated the methodological quality of the studies using the Cochrane Collaboration tool (RoB 2.0). This study was prepared in line with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) statement. Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (CMA) 3 software was used for meta-analysis.

RESULTS

Eight randomized controlled trials conducted with 819 participants were included in this study. The evaluation of meta-analysis data showed that interprofessional simulation-based education programs significantly improved teamwork (Hedge's g = 0.41, p < 0.001, 95 % CI = 0.25 to 0.56) and communication (Hedge's g = 0.54, p < 0.001, 95 % CI = 0.26 to 0.82). The results of the sensitivity analysis showed that teamwork and communication were stable.

CONCLUSION

Interprofessional simulation-based education programs seem to be an appropriate method for improving teamwork and communication among healthcare students. In the future, it is thought that there is a need to individualize interprofessional simulation-based education programs based on cultural differences and socio-demographic characteristics of healthcare students and to plan studies that examine long-term results.

REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42022325514 (PROSPERO).

A Simulation-Based Clinical Nursing Education Framework for a Low-Resource Setting: A Multimethod Study

Simulation-based clinical education is a useful strategy for teaching, learning, and assessing clinical competence in health professions education. However, the use of simulation-based clinical nursing education (SBCNE) in low-resource settings such as Ghana has been hampered by the lack of a context-specific framework to guide its design, implementation, and evaluation. This study sought to develop a context-specific framework to guide the design, implementation, and evaluation of SBCNE in a low-resource setting. The study employed a sequential multimethod design, comprising a scoping review; qualitative descriptive design (situational analysis) made up of two parts–focus group discussions (FGDs) with post-registration nurses and nursing students, and semi-structured interviews with nurse educators; and narrative synthesis of the scoping review and situational analysis data, used to develop a draft SBCNE framework for a low-resource setting. The draft SBCNE framework was evaluated by stakeholders of nursing education and practice using nominal group discussions. The framework is comprised of five constructs (context, planning, design, community of learning, and outcomes). The user-centric, comprehensive, context-specific SBCNE framework has the potential to enhance the implementation of simulation in nursing education and the development of clinical competence in a low-resource setting. As a result, we urge nursing leaders and nurse educator unions to take the lead in lobbying regulatory bodies, the central government, and their development partners to provide the necessary financial support and resources for the implementation of the framework and adoption of SBCNE in low-resource settings.

Teaching and Learning of Clinical Competence in Ghana: Experiences of Students and Post-Registration Nurses

Despite the growing demand for competent nurses to fill the shortage gap, nursing education institutions have not always been able to equip students with the requisite clinical competence needed in the practice setting. Several studies have described the experiences of undergraduate nursing students in the clinical learning environment. No study was found on the experiences of diploma nursing students and post-registration nurses regarding the teaching and learning of clinical competence in Ghana. This study, therefore, sought to describe the experiences and perceptions of diploma nursing students and post-registration nurses regarding the teaching and learning of clinical competence in Ghana. A qualitative descriptive research design was employed in this study. Fifty-five (55) participants, comprising 40 students and 15 post-registration diploma nurses, from six research sites were recruited into focus group discussions (FGDs) using a maximum variation purposive sampling technique. A thematic framework method was used to analyze the data with the aid of ATLAS.ti software. Three themes emerged from the focus group discussions: nursing education institutional factors; clinical placement design, implementation, and system challenges; challenges of clinical teaching and learning. We conclude that the current approach to clinical nursing education, such as the overreliance on clinical placement and the use of more teacher-centered teaching approaches, are ineffective in facilitating the development of clinical competence. A review of the nursing curriculum, inculcating evidence-based simulation modalities, and an adequate investment in nursing education may be required to ensure effective nursing education in the study setting.