Palliative and end-of-life care: using a standardized patient family for gerontological nurse practitioner students

Human Simulation in Nursing Education

Although, human simulation methodology has its origins in medical education, nursing education has increased its use of simulated patient (SP) methodology to improve the education of nursing students across the curricula. This chapter will review the history of human simulation, introduce the human simulation continuum, and review different applications of SP methodology in undergraduate and graduate nursing education.

Evaluation of the Psychometric Properties of Relational Insights 360 Among Baccalaureate Nursing Students With the Use of Standardized Patients

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to evaluate reliability and validity of the relational competency assessment instrument, Relational Insights 360 (RI-360) (Koloroutis & Trout, 2012), among 104 baccalaureate nursing students and 10 standardized patients (SPs) upon completion of a communication simulation.

METHODS

The reliability of the RI-360 was determined by Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Interrater reliability of the RI-360 was measured between the SPs and the primary investigator with percentages. Factor analysis was run to evaluate the construct validity.

RESULTS

The RI-360 was internally consistent with an alpha coefficient of 0.93. Interrater reliability for all items on the RI-360 was 42% between students' scores and SPs' scores and 38.9% between the Primary Investigator's scores and SPs' scores. Exploratory factor analysis showed that factor loadings ranged from 0.29 to 0.84.

CONCLUSIONS

The RI-360 appears to be a valid and reliable scale for use in measuring relational competency among nursing students and SPs.

Effect of SEGUE-based communication education on nursing simulation practice: a quasi-experimental design

Background: Effective educational approaches are required to enhance nursing students' communication competency.Objectives: To  evaluate the effectiveness of SEGUE ('set the stage,' 'elicit information,' 'give information,' 'understand the patient's perspective,' and 'end the encounter')-based communication education.Design: A non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design.Methods: Students were randomized into the control group (n = 41) and experimental group (n = 57). Communication competency and efficacy were measured via a self-report questionnaire and via ratings of the students from professor and standardized patient.Results: Scores by students (self-evaluations; p < .001), professor (p < .001), and standardized patient (p < .042) showed higher communication competency in the experimental group. Compared with the control group, the pre-post difference in communication efficacy in the experimental group was increased (p = .004).Conclusions: Simulation practice to reflect the various clinical situation is recommended to improve students' communication.Impact statement: SEGUE-based communication education in nursing simulation practice with the standardized patient was an effective strategy for improving nursing students' communication.

Effectiveness of Standardized Patient in Abdominal Physical Examination Education: A Randomized, Controlled Trial

INTRODUCTION

Simulation and virtual technologies currently are used to enhance basic and advanced nursing skills. Information on the use of simulation methods in the Iranian nursing education system, particularly regarding standardized patients (SP), is scarce. Hence, the present study aimed to evaluate the effect of using SP on the performance of Iranian nursing students in the physical examination of the abdomen. In addition, the SP method was compared with the purely lecture-based education method.

METHODS

The present study was of a pre-test/post-test design carried out at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Kazerun Islamic Azad University (Kazerun, Iran) during 2014. Third-year nursing students were recruited and assigned to either a control or an intervention group. The study was conducted in three phases: pre-test knowledge evaluation, training sessions, and post-test/recall test evaluation of objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). Data were analyzed using the SPSS software (version 16.0). A total of 87 students were included in our analysis.

RESULTS

All participants were female with a mean age of 21.99±1.73 years. The mean pre-test score of the control and intervention groups were 4.98±2.17 and 5.35±1.77, respectively. No significant difference was observed between the groups regarding the OSCE overall scores (P>0.05). However, there was a significant difference between the mean pre-test and post-test scores in each group (P<0.05). Compared to the control group, the difference in the mean pre-test and post-test scores was higher in the intervention group (4.98±2.17 and 14.43±3.93 in control group vs. 5.35±1.77 and 15.39±3.2 in intervention group, respectively). Furthermore, there was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of the post-test and recall test scores.

CONCLUSION

Our study demonstrates the SP method is an effective tool for learning to perform the physical examination of the abdomen as compared to the purely lecture-based educational method. The present pilot study could be extended to cover training on the physical examination of other human organs.

Training physiotherapy students to educate patients: A randomised controlled trial

OBJECTIVE

To determine the effect of a training intervention on physiotherapy students' self-efficacy and skills in the area of patient education.

METHODS

Final year physiotherapy students were randomised to an intervention group or a wait-list control group. The intervention group participated in a 3.5h training intervention about patient education that included video observation, simulated patient practice and structured feedback. The control group did not receive any training. Self-efficacy was assessed at baseline (T1) and after the intervention (or no intervention for the control group) (T2). Patient education performance was assessed by a blinded rater from a video-recorded standardised clinical examination.

RESULTS

83 students were randomised to the intervention group and 81 students to the control group. There were no differences in demographic variables or self-efficacy between groups at baseline. There was significant improvement in self-efficacy for the intervention group, but no change for the control group. The intervention group performed significantly better than the control group for nine of the eleven performance items, with significantly higher scores overall.

CONCLUSION

A training intervention enhances physiotherapy student self-efficacy and performance in patient education.

PRACTICE IMPLICATION

Use of patient education training is recommended to enhance student self-efficacy and performance.

Exploring the use of standardized patients for simulation-based learning in preparing advanced practice nurses

The use of standardized patients for simulation-based learning was integrated into the Master of Nursing curriculum in the 2012-2013 academic year. The study aimed to explore the Master of Nursing students' experiences with and perceptions of using standardized patients in simulations, and to identify the students' learning needs in preparing to become advanced practice nurses. The study adopted an exploratory descriptive qualitative design, using a focus group interview. The study was conducted at a university in Singapore. Seven Master of Nursing students who were enrolled in the Acute Care Track of Master of Nursing program in the 2012-2013 academic year participated in the study. The data were gathered at the end of the first semester. Content analysis was used to analyze the data. Three main categories - usefulness, clinical limitations, and realism - were identified in the study. The results revealed that the students felt using standardized patients was useful and realistic for developing skills in history taking, communication, and responding to an emergency situation. On the other hand, they found that the standardized patients were limited in providing critical signs and symptoms of case scenarios. To meet the learning objectives, future development and integration of standardized patients in the Master of Nursing curriculum might need to be considered along with the use of a high-fidelity simulator. This can be an alternative strategy to fill the gaps in each method. Obviously, using standardized patients for simulation-based learning has added value to the students' learning experiences. It is highly recommended that future studies explore the impact of using standardized patients on students' performance in clinical settings.

The outcome of interprofessional education: Integrating communication studies into a standardized patient experience for advanced practice nursing students

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the impact of standardized patient experiences (SPE) in the education of the Advanced Practice Nurse (APN). The education of the APN requires educators to make every attempt to promote competency in the areas of communication and clinical-decision making. SPE programs have been found to improve the interpersonal, problem solving, and critical thinking skills of nursing students. For this research twenty-nine APN students participated in SPEs over the course of two semesters. Fifteen student volunteers of those 29 participants were then interviewed three months after the experience. Results revealed that having an expert in the field of communication studies increased awareness of communication skills and how to improve nurse-patient encounters in the clinical setting. The interprofessional collaboration during the SPEs assisted in facilitating the application of learned communication skills into patient-centered care of the APN student.

Using standardized patient with immediate feedback and group discussion to teach interpersonal and communication skills to advanced practice nursing students

BACKGROUND

Interpersonal and communication skills (IPCS) are essential for advanced practice nursing (APN) in our increasingly complex healthcare system. The Standardized Patient (SP) is a promising innovative pedagogy in medical and healthcare education; however, its effectiveness for teaching IPCS to graduate nursing students remains unclear.

OBJECTIVES

We examined the effectiveness of using SP with SP feedback and group discussion to teach IPCS in graduate nursing education.

DESIGN

Randomized-controlled study.

PARTICIPANTS

First-year APN students in Taiwan.

METHODS

Participants were randomly assigned to the experimental (SP assessments with SP feedback and group discussion) or control (SP assessments only) group. There were two outcome indicators: IPCS and student learning satisfaction (SLS). The IPCS were assessed before and after the study in interviews with the SPs. SLS was measured when the study ended.

RESULTS

All participants expressed high SLS (94.44%) and showed significant (p ≤ 0.025) improvements on IPCS total scores, interviewing, and counseling. However, there were no significant differences between groups. Qualitative feedback from encounters with SPs is described.

CONCLUSIONS

Using SPs to teach IPCS to APN students produced a high SLS. The students learned and significantly improved their IPCS by interviewing SPs, but future studies are needed to confirm the effectiveness of SP feedback and group discussions.