NICU/Acute Care High Fidelity Simulation and Clinical Skills Day
Purpose: Physical therapy (PT) in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is considered a specialty and advanced practice area in pediatric physical therapy. Current clinical competencies and training modules in physical therapy education state that the NICU environment is not an appropriate setting for physical therapy students. 1,2 Preparing physical therapists for neonatal practice should occur in pre-cepted practicums, fellowships, or neonatal training as part of a pediatric residency.1,2 Additionally, hospitals across the United States report shortages in acute care physical therapists and providing clinical education experiences in this setting has its challenges.3 High fidelity simulation (HFS) has been shown to improve physical therapist student self efficacy for acute care clinical practice.4,5 In nursing education, it is well documented that improvements in both confidence and competency using HFS is effective. 6 It is also documented that nursing students describe the HFS experience as one that allows for reflection, emotional processing, connecting with colleagues, and learning from others. 7 However, limited evidence exists regarding pediatric physical therapy and nursing students’ value of combining an interprofessional education experience (IPE) in pediatric acute care and NICU environments using high fidelity simulation and a clinical skills lab. The purpose of this educational session is to describe an inter-professional education collaboration with nursing and physical therapy students.
Methods and/or Description of Project: The IPE high fidelity simulation and clinical skills lab experience took place at the University of Miami’s School of Nursing Simulation Center. The simulation day consisted of two sessions; a clinical skills session and a pediatric Acute Care or NICU simulation. During the clinical skills session nursing and PT students reviewed common activities seen in Acute Care and NICU environments: peripheral intravenous (IV): flowing lines, peripheral IV: salinelock, nasogastric feeding tube, Yankauer mouth suction tip, Bag valve mask, closed suction (Ballard), diapering, swaddling, positioning, holding, and weighing, measuring and bathing techniques. The high fidelity simulation experience consisted of participating in one of the following simulation experiences: an infant in the NICU, a teenager transferred to the acute care floor after an orthopedic surgery or a pediatric patient with acute asthma. Before and after the HFS, experienced faculty led a debriefing session allowing students to provide feedback regarding their preparation, performance and overall experience during the HFS.
Results/Outcomes: Nine (9) physical therapy students and four (4) of nursing students completed post surveys of their perception on preparedness in working with critical ill pediatric patients and the value of an IPE clinical skills and simulation experience.
Conclusions/Relevance to the conference theme: Preparing nursing and PT students in their ability to work with critically ill pediatric patients is challenging. NICU competencies are not expected of PT students; however, introduction and exposure to this patient population in a low stakes and safe environment can provide the foundation necessary to further development during full-time internships. The IPE experience also provides for improved communication opportunities with other healthcare professionals. This presentation aims at "Charting a New Course" in NICU and Acute care training for entry-level PT students and nursing students enrolled in a pediatric course.