Perspectives Summer/Fall 2016

COLLEGE OF HEALTH CARE SCIENCES • 33 Can Simulation Improve Physical and Occupational Therapy Student Confidence and Skills? Simulation is a teaching strategy using mannequins, models, or standardized patients to replace actual patients. Research has shown that medical simula- tion significantly improves student-learning out- comes. Consequently, an interprofessional CHCS team joined forces to determine whether simulation enhances student confidence and skills needed for in-patient environments. Recently, a $10,000 NSU Health Professions Division Educational Research Grant was awarded to Timothy Miller, D.P.T., PT, GCS, assistant professor; Dennis McCarthy, Ph.D., OTR/L, associate professor and director of student affairs and marketing; Dixie L. Pennington, B.S., EMET, director of simulation and interactive technology; and me. Simulation prepares students to react to high-stakes patient scenarios (loss of consciousness) in real time without posing risks to actual patients. Simulation facilitates interprofessional skills—a critical aspect of training future therapists. It has also been used as a strategy to supplement clinical internships in the nursing profession. Pennington guided the team to select appropriate mannequins for training occupational therapy students. Low-fidelity mannequins with articulating joints were selected because CHCS students focus on movement and functional mobility. The mannequins also have adjustable blood pressure simulators, intravenous lines, catheters, and colostomy attachments. Volunteer students from the physical therapy and occupational therapy programs were randomly assigned to the experimental (E) group (using mannequins) or control (C) group (practicing on peers). All participants received online instruction, including a lecture and demonstration video. The E group received two hours of training on the mannequins, while the C group received two hours of training using each other. All participants rated their confidence in performing acute-care skills before training, after online training, and after hands-on training. Participants were then tested on their ability to manage a standardized patient in a hospital room. Three individuals from the E group also participated in a structured interview. The results? Students in both groups made significant improvements in confidence scores across the three points in time; however, there was no significant difference in confidence and no significant difference in skill level between the two groups. Qualitative feedback from the E group participants indicated simulation decreased their fear of hurting a real patient, although they missed the natural verbal interactions when working with mannequins. Future plans include creating interprofessional learning activities for CHCS students using the mannequins and adding technology to the simulation experience. n BY MARY T. BLACKINTON, ED.D., PT, GCS, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF THE HYBRID D.P.T. PROGRAM Making it Real Timothy Miller, D.P.T., PT, GCS, who serves as principal investigator of the simulation study, performs passive range of motion on a mannequin.