INFORMATION FOR MEDICAL AND NURSING STUDENT FACULTY VOLUNTEERS
If you volunteer to become part of our faculty you will be playing a big part in helping us to train healthcare professionals in using simulation in clinical education. You, by playing the role of ‘real’ candidates are adding enormously to the value of our course participants learning experience. Please read the following information carefully. Simulation is a powerful teaching tool. As you will know, the experience is generally very enjoyable but can be, at times, quite demanding both intellectually and emotionally.
Your role
You will play the part of a new Foundation Programme Year 1 doctor (something you are very close to being). We do not expect you to know everything; just do what you think is right. You can call for help from anyone you think is appropriate but do try to do as much as you can (in terms of initial assessment and management) before picking up the phone. Of course, if you think it is reasonable to call for the cardiac arrest team then don’t hesitate!
Try to use the ABCDE framework for initial assessment and management and try to use the SBAR framework for communication. Remember, it is not an assessment of your performance; you are part of the faculty! However, equally important, don’t act a part; be yourself!
The course
The Simulation Train the Trainers Course is for experienced clinical teachers who wish to gain more expertise in using simulation. It runs over two days and concentrates on the role of feedback-giving. It is quite gruelling for candidates (and faculty!). The first day and the early morning of the second is made up of a mixture of short simulation scenarios interspaced with theoretical ‘workshop’ sessions. The rest of the second day is set aside for the longer simulation exercises which you will be involved in.
The course candidates
The candidates are hospital consultants, postgraduate trainees, senior nurses and other senior health care professionals.
The simulator sessions
The long simulations last about 20 to 30 minutes. You will be on your own or with a colleague. Normally, we run parallel scenarios in the main simulation room and the skills lab (where the format is more like a ward-based simulation session). The scenarios will be videoed and this will be used in the feedback sessions which last for about half an hour. The feedback will be facilitated generally by two course attendees.
In most scenarios the part of the nurse will be played by a course attendee and he or she may not be experienced in that role and may not be very familiar with the simulated environment.
Difficulties
Because this is a course where the attendees are learning how to use simulation, some will be inexperienced in the techniques. They may be nervous and some may appear to be more abrupt or unsympathetic than they would want which may be at times intimidating. Also, because of their backgrounds, they may not be all that certain of what you might be reasonably expected to know. We will not allow candidates to make your feedback too difficult but please bear in mind that making mistakes is part of the learning process. Remember, you are facilitating their learning. You are not being assessed, even if you feel you may be!
We will ask your views of how you felt during the feedback sessions so that we can get a rounded view of a candidate’s performance. Faculty members will be in attendance at all times. If you feel at any time that you would like to stop or withdraw from the session or the course completely, please feel free to do so.
If you are worried about anything that happens during a scenario or feedback session and wish to discuss it confidentially please do not hesitate to contact one us. You can find our e-mail addresses and telephone numbers below. Alternatively, you may wish to speak to your mentor or Dr Barbara Philips, lead for the Final Year (bphilips@sgul.ac.uk).
Greg McAnulty, Clinical Lead for Simulation at St George’s Hospital, London
077 77 68 30 60
Nicholas Gosling, Simulation and Skills Manager at St George’s Hospital, London
077 69 89 12 79
GAPS - Technology Enhanced Learning & Teaching 