Simulation for Communication: The Utilization of SIM for Remediation in Clinical Education
Purpose
Academic programs must effectively educate students in the knowledge, skills, and behaviors necessary for entry-level clinical practice. When students falter in clinical experiences, remediation is then necessary to address areas of deficit and to promote resiliency. Use of simulation with standardized patients provides opportunities for students to make logical connections between didactic learning and clinical education. Besides practicing psychomotor skills, simulation enhances student confidence and self-efficacy. Little is known about how this form of remediation can improve affective behaviors and confidence to meet clinical expectations. This case study explores how one DPT program utilized simulation to successfully reintegrate two students into full-time clinical experiences.
Methods/Description:
The Directors of Clinical Education created individualized remediation plans for two students with performance issues during different levels of clinic education. Each planÕs main theme was improvement of affective behaviors in a short three to four-week timeframe. Utilizing the universityÕs simulation center, faculty developed case-based scenarios for practicing different affective skills, including non-verbal communication, demonstration of empathy, and effective patient education. Communication strategy training ranged from modeling everyday conversational behaviors to formalized patient interviews. Preliminary activities, including competency testing, were performed with faculty members or peers. A final video-taped simulation with a standardized patient completed the formal remediation plan, with debriefing to promote self-reflection.
Results/Outcomes:
Following the remediation, Student A successfully returned to the first 8-week clinical experience by achieving all expected benchmark ratings. Student A successfully completed the programÕs intermediate and terminal experiences, plus received an opportunity for potential employment. Student BÕs placement in a new 12-week terminal clinical experience allowed the student to achieve ratings of entry-level and beyond for all domains. Through verbal feedback and written reflection, both students attributed their successful clinical education outcomes to elements associated with the remediation plans.
Conclusions/Relevance to the conference theme:
A hallmark of resilience is the ability to grow stronger through the process of being disrupted by change or adversity. Student suspension or termination from a clinical experience is a challenging moment for which students require support to overcome. This case study aligns with the conference subtheme of how team well-being can be enhanced through promoting resilience and success in physical therapy education through effective remediation using simulation.