Using Virtual Simulation for Interprofessional Clinical Preceptors to Improve Student Feedback
Summary
Background
Feedback is essential for learning in future health care professionals. Effective feedback engages learners in a psychologically safe, candid, and meaningful dialogue. It fosters specific actionable areas for improvement, realistic self-appraisal, and lifelong learning. However, clinical preceptors often lack the knowledge, confidence, and skills to deliver timely, candid feedback to learners.
Simulation is a powerful, complex learning method that provides an opportunity for deliberate practice and is highly effective for professional continuing education. The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated a shift to delivering education online and has likely changed the educational landscape permanently. Effective use of simulation in online education can improve access to educational resources, for example in rural underserved areas. Providing virtual simulation based learning for inter-professional clinical preceptors to improve student feedback is novel and innovative and may improve the quality of healthcare education statewide.
Purpose
The purpose of this project is to develop, implement, and evaluate an inter-professional, simulation-based workshop to enhance clinical preceptors’ skills in providing effective feedback to healthcare students. The aim is to increase the impact of this educational event including both the UAMS Northwest and Little Rock campuses. Initially, this will address the need for increased clinical preceptor development to support the expansion of UAMS academic programs on the Northwest campus. The ultimate goal is to provide a simulation-based educational resource to train clinical preceptors in underserved areas such as the Delta to address inequalities in healthcare education throughout the state of Arkansas.
Methods
Participants. We will invite clinical preceptors with at least one year of experience working with doctorally prepared students from the College of Medicine, College of Pharmacy, and College of Health Professions, including Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Audiology to participate.
Design. An interprofessional team of investigators will use grounded theory as a conceptual framework to perform a qualitative needs assessment, involving both clinical preceptors and learners. Based on the needs assessment, the investigators will develop scenarios that simulate encounters with learners, in which delivery of student feedback is challenging.
Prior to the simulation, participants will engage in an interactive didactic session using Ericsson’s deliberate practice model as the conceptual framework. The didactic session will focus on the purpose of feedback in the clinical setting, learning styles, and frameworks and strategies for delivering effective feedback.
The virtual education will use the brief-simulation-debrief approach. The simulation will feature simulated health professions learners, with support from the UAMS Simulation Center. The debrief approach targets the goal of promoting translation of the application of knowledge in the clinical education setting.
Evaluation and Future Steps
The program evaluation will feature a mixed-methods approach, with both qualitative and quantitative analyses. Targeted outcomes will include multiple levels of Kirkpatrick’s levels of educational evaluation. The investigators plan to disseminate the findings in national presentations and peer-reviewed publications. Based on the lessons learned from the project, the investigators will further develop the online simulation to other pertinent aspects of clinical preceptor development, and plan to disseminate it across Arkansas and beyond.
Keywords:
- feedback
- simulation
- continuing education
- clinical preceptors
- professional development
- educational measurement
- faculty
- medical
- virtual education
Researchers:
- Angel Holland (Author)
- Karen Dickinson
- Michael Anders