Multi-Disciplinary Healthcare Providers Benefit from Medical Simulation Training
Simulation has been used in military and aeronautical training for decades. Pilots clock thousands of flight hours before they ever take a real aircraft into the sky, and soldiers develop strategic plans and teamwork skills prior to their involvement in combat. But these are hardly the only possible applications of simulation training. Healthcare clinicians, doctors, nurses, hospitalists, technicians, allied health professionals, counselors, and more take part in medical simulation training exercises. These scenarios are developed for repeated practice and clinical skill development within a safe environment so that the learners practice, and are free to make mistakes without running the risk of putting an actual patient at risk.
Colleges and universities with nursing, medical, and other clinical education programs often build a simulation lab or center for their learners to take part in medical simulation training. These labs can be as simple as a one or two-room setup in which learners take part in training and are observed by a faculty member or lab administrator – or as complex as a multiple-room setup with patient exam rooms, hospital bays containing dozens of beds, maternity or OBGYN wards, or surgical suites. When it comes to medical simulation training within a school, the only constraints are budget, space—and the simulation lab administrator's creativity.
At the higher-education level, a medical simulation training lab can also be equipped for multi-disciplinary learners. Smaller schools and programs may find it especially helpful and budget-friendly to build a lab that can accommodate learners from various healthcare education programs, including nursing, physician's assistant, dental hygiene, physical therapy, and more. And larger programs with more financial freedom might build a lab that caters to medical learners as well as surgeons or emergency medical professionals. Education within a single medical simulation training environment can help learners of various specialties develop the communication and organizational skills necessary for working in the multi-disciplinary teams they will encounter in an actual patient care or hospital environment.
Additionally, other learners associated with the wide fields of allied health are reaping the benefits of medical simulation training. Athletic trainers; occupational therapists; physical therapists; respiratory therapists; medical diagnosticians; and more are encouraged to take part in simulations that enhance their clinical skills through repetitive practice within a safe environment. Simulation labs specifically for allied health professions training may be built within a community college, trade school, four-year college or university, or by the accrediting body, and learners who have undergonemedical simulation training will have a leg up when they enter the job market.
Hospitals are also increasingly interested in building medical simulation training labs and centers. Certified and practicing doctors, nurses, physician's assistants, and hospitalists are often required to take part in continuing education sessions in order to maintain accreditation. When their hospital has an on-site simulation lab, it's convenient for these continuing education learners to take part in simulation sessions and familiarize themselves with the latest trends in technology and patient caregiving. Hospitals may examine the simulation lab's return on investment (ROI) for this reason—and because a well-trained staff means better patient outcomes, fewer malpractice lawsuits, and a higher industry reputation.
Leaners within the emergency medical field likewise benefit from medical simulation training. Either by working in conjunction with a school or hospital, or on their own, an EMT or EMS group may train caregivers on the highly specific skills needed for emergency care and transport. Some EMT education programs have even gone so far as to outfit a real ambulance or emergency transport vehicle as a medical simulation training lab on wheels. These mobile units allow emergency professionals to go from the scene of the accident to the place of care delivery, all the while taking part in a high-stakes training session. EMT/EMS professionals not only make spur-of-the-moment decisions that will influence the patient's outcome and survival rate, but must also communicate with various parties, including fellow caregivers within the ambulance and at the hospital, police, firefighters, and the patient's family members.
Beyond the sphere of doctors, nurses, hospitalists, and clinical healthcare providers, medical simulation training is of great use within the world of professional counselor education. Counselors to-be augment classroom curricula and bookwork with simulation, practice counseling sessions, and roleplay that is closely monitored by program faculty or administrators. Like healthcare learners, counselors develop interpersonal and communication skills, as well as treatment regimens, within safe, simulated environments before they ever work with real patients.
Medical simulation training allows learners to become skilled care providers and clinicians. Learn more at SIMULATIONiQ.com.
About The Author:
The author of the article has an extensive experience in the field of Medical Simulation Training and Medical Simulation Software.