Simulations are commonly used in medical and nursing education, however the introduction of simulation-based learning in allied health is a more recent development.
Simulation is used in education institutions to serve four primary purposes: Ethical imperatives Imperative 1: It is ethically important to minimise risk to patients by preparing students appropriately for their transition into clinical practice. Imperative 2: There is strong evidence to support that simulation training provides extensive learning to students that is not accessed through other forms of training, therefore this opportunity should be offered. Educational benefits There are several education benefits to simulation training, including faster learning times, the opportunity to repeatedly practice skills, and the opportunity to increase preparedness for crisis situations. Addressing training system capacity issues There are several challenges to providing clinical placements for students. These challenges include short patient lengths of stay, the large amount of supervision time required by professionals, acute patients and unequal disparity between different clinical placement experiences. There is strong evidence to indicate that simulation training generates similar outcomes in student learning, while reducing capacity issues. |
Ongoing changes in the health sector
There has been a shift in the health sector to more ambulatory and community settings, meaning that hospitals contain a greater number of acute cases. The healthcare sector now acknowledges that students should not practice skills in some of this acute circumstances without prior training in best practice. Training in these acute scenarios is important but is ethically more appropriate to learn through simulation.
|