Insights Into Learning Among Physical Therapy, Medical, and Nursing Students Following a Simulation-Based, Interprofessional Patient Safety Course.

As the need for a strong interdisciplinary approach in the delivery of healthcare services becomes increasingly vital, interprofessional education (IPE) is essential to equip healthcare professionals of the future to deliver better care. IPE encounters using simulation-based education can be a powerful tool in inculcating pre-professional students with foundational tools for successful interprofessional work. This qualitative study explores the learning that occurs during IPE encounters that include nursing, physical therapy, and medical 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.

A comparison of learning outcomes from two poverty simulation experiences.

Objectives: Five nationally representative U.S. federal data sources consistently showed the link between poverty and poor health outcomes.

Participation in a System-Thinking Simulation Experience Changes Adverse Event Reporting.

Introduction: System failures are contributing factors in the thousands of adverse events occurring in US healthcare institutions yearly. This study explored the premise that exposure to a simulation experience designed to improve system thinking (ST) would impact adverse event reporting patterns.

Methods: An intervention-control study was used to explore impacts of participation in a simulation designed to improve ST on adverse event reporting.

Reflections on Career Pathways of Simulation-Focused Experts in the Field.

This article presents reflections of career pathways of simulation researchers as well as a discussion of the themes found in the stories presented. It is the intent of the authors to present and foster a discussion around the ways in which we as a simulation community wish to promote recognition of scholarship among simulation researchers and help support newcomers find success as simulation researchers in academia. We also present recommendations for those considering entering the field based on tactics that were successful and not successful among the scholars who shared their stories.

Findings from a human roles terminology survey: consensus or chaos?

Background: Terminology describing humans' roles in simulation varies widely. Inconsistent nomenclature is problematic because it inhibits use of a common language, impacting development of a cohesive body of knowledge.

Methods: A literature search was completed to identify terms used to describe roles played by humans in simulation-based education.

A Multisite Study Demonstrates Positive Impacts to Systems Thinking Using a Table-top Simulation Experience.

Background: Systems thinking (ST) is the ability to recognize, understand, and synthesize interactions and interdependencies in a set of components designed for a purpose. Systems thinking has been shown to improve systems and decrease error. Despite these benefits, ST has not yet been consistently integrated into all health care education programs.

Adverse event reporting following simulation encounters in accelerated and traditional bachelor nursing students.

Objective: This study was to investigate the differences in the types, frequency, and perspectives of self-reported adverse events reported following simulation encounters between students enrolled in two Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) programs: accelerated option (AO-BSN) or traditional (T-BSN) and by role (participant or observer) during simulation.

Methods: This study analyzed 6994 adverse event reports entered by students through the simulated adverse event reporting system.

Results: The AO-BSN students reported a higher percentage of adverse events coded as errors.

Adaptive Quizzing Improves End-of-Program Exit Examination Scores.

Background: A third of nursing schools use a standardized, end-of-program exit examination requiring minimum passing scores for student progression. Student failures on high-stakes tests have negative implications for students and schools of nursing. Adaptive quizzing has increased grades, graduation rates, and NCLEX-RN passing rates and reduced test anxiety in nursing students.

Impact of Simulation-Enhanced Pharmacology Education in Prelicensure Nursing Education.

Student and novice nurses are susceptible to committing medication errors related to lack of experience. To address medication safety, a quasi-experimental design (N = 120) was used to test the effect of adding simulation to an undergraduate nursing pharmacology course on students' confidence and competence, medication adverse events, and observed medication administration practices. Students who received simulation-enhanced pharmacology demonstrated important improvements in medication administration safety.

Interprofessional Simulation Olympics as a platform to assess team work knowledge acquisition.

Introduction: Several years ago an on-stage competition called SimWars was introduced to the simulation community. This concept was adopted into a patient safety course as a way to further engage students and named Sim Olympics. We sought to evaluate it as a platform for assessment of learning in students who participated as audience members.

Twitter as a tool to enhance student engagement during an interprofessional patient safety course.

Twitter and other social media forums are gaining popularity in both the academic and conference arenas as tools to increase participant engagement, attention and interaction. While Twitter has been used successfully to engage college students, it has not been explored for use in an interprofessional curriculum. We sought to explore it as a method to foster student engagement.

Filling the void: defining invasive bedside procedural competency for internal medicine residents.

Background: Residents perform invasive bedside procedures in most training programs. To date, there is no universal approach for determining competency and ensuring quality and safety of care.

Objective: We developed and implemented an assessment of central venous catheter insertion competency for internal medicine and internal medicine-pediatrics residents, using measurements for knowledge, skill, and attitude and linking them to procedural outcomes.

Establishing a convention for acting in healthcare simulation: merging art and science.

Among the most powerful tools available to simulation instructors is a confederate. Although technical and logical realism is dictated by the simulation platform and setting, the quality of role playing by confederates strongly determines psychological or emotional fidelity of simulation. The highest level of realism, however, is achieved when the confederates are properly trained.

Do hospital visitors wash their hands? Assessing the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizer in a hospital lobby.

Background: Reports regarding hand hygiene compliance (HHC) among hospital visitors are limited. Although there is an implicit assumption that the availability of alcohol-based hand sanitizer (AHS) promotes visitor HHC, the degree of AHS use by visitors remains unclear. To assess AHS use, we observed visitor HHC and how it is affected by visual cues in a private university hospital.

Factors impacting hand hygiene compliance among new interns: findings from a mandatory patient safety course.

Background: Residency is a critical transition during which individuals acquire lifelong behaviors important for professionalism and optimal patient care. One behavior is proper hand hygiene (HH), yet poor compliance with accepted HH practices remains a critical issue in many settings. This study explored the factors affecting hand hygiene compliance (HHC) in a diverse group of interns at the beginning of graduate training.

Creating a common patient safety denominator: the interns' course.

Aim: After finishing medical school, interns are in many ways unprepared for handling patient care challenges independently. Recognizing that interns may benefit from a patient safety orientation, we developed an innovative curriculum to impart competencies related to their role in preventing medical errors. In the course, which runs during the first week of the intern year, we specifically address 1) calling for help; 2) teamwork and communication; 3) hand hygiene compliance; and, 4) preventing medication and other system errors.

Aspiration assessment and prevention in critically ill enterally fed patients: evidence-based recommendations for practice.

Providing nutrition to patients is a vitally important aspect of care. Enterally feeding even critically ill patients remains the method of choice for most prescribers; however, the decision to provide nutrition via the enteral route comes with the added concern of bronchopulmonary aspiration as a complication. The majority of the literature and research on enteral feeding is out of date and focuses primarily on ways to identify aspiration, rather then preventing it.