We incorporate all aspects of teaching, research and enterprise perspectives in our activities to ensure a comprehensive insight and holistic knowledge of the field.
The aim of this group is to develop and understand simulation as a method to train and educate, and to contrive situations for observational and assessment purposes. We incorporate all aspects of teaching, research and enterprise perspectives in our activities to ensure a comprehensive insight and holistic knowledge of the field. Our predominant focus is on healthcare, however we are keen to explore synergies with other sectors that impact the lifecourse development.
Background
Simulation in healthcare is a rapidly developing field that is multi-faceted. From a training and education perspective it has the ability to model an environment, replicate equipment, and imitate patients and people in order to provide a hands-on experience that creates a connection between theory and practice in a safe and dynamic setting; ultimately enhancing the quality and capacity of the learning environment.
The realistic and immersive nature of simulation also make it a good method for assessing, observing, and evaluating how students and healthcare professionals perform in practice and react to contrived situations. For example, by:
- Identifying key challenges in workforce development
- Using simulation to transform/re-design the workforce
- Informing system leaders when initiating, influencing, or advocating for system-level change
- Improving patient safety through
- Rehearsal for performance
- Promoting development of professional capabilities and multi-professional team-working
- Strengthening resilience in safety systems and processes
- Implementing national patient safety strategies and syllabuses
- Delivering a modern workforce through:
- Recruitment (using simulation to give the future workforce a taste of what employment in healthcare is like)
- Enhancing the selection processes (using simulation to assess applicants performance)
- Enhancing induction requirements including assessment of current skills, identification of learning needs and return to training/practice
- Assessment, career progression, reskilling, and remediation
- Lifelong learning (including revalidation)
- Workforce retention and wellbeing (upskilling and confidence gaining)
- Adopting new technologies and ways of working.
- Involving patients and the public
- In decision-making
- Needs assessments
- Awareness building / public health initiatives
This therefore creates ample opportunity for research whether it be design-based (scenarios, equipment, pedagogical models), evaluating and assessing the effectiveness of the training, quality improvement initiatives, observing contrived situations, to name but a few.
Additionally, the educational and transformative models developed through the teaching and research process, and any associated equipment has enterprise potential. By identifying where the enterprise potential is, we are able to formally create and package (often in partnership with industry) in a useable format that others can utilise and benefit from, whilst simultaneously generating impact in a symbiotic relationship.
The group
The group is made up of academics, researchers, technicians, healthcare professionals, psychologists, educationalists, and an economist. This creates a wide range of expertise, skills, contacts and perspectives that help us to advance our agenda. We envision our group incorporating experts from other fields as we grow and expand.
Facilities / Resources
Our simulation facilities include:
- Three large, five-bedded, inpatient wards looking after Adult general; Midwifery ante and post-natal; and Paediatrics including neonatal special, high and intensive care patients.
- Three clinical skills simulation suites
- Three triage or patient consultation rooms
- A fully functioning one bedroom flat with patient hoist system.
- A static ambulance installation
- CAE human patient simulators including augmented reality simulators
- Virtual reality patient communication simulators
- Lifecast patient simulators
- Trauma moulage including self-harm injuries
- Psychiatric intensive care furniture
- Bariatric and older patient adult simulators
- Static and mobile video and audio capture for debriefing across all the facilities
- Technical support
Teaching
We are currently developing our undergraduate curriculums for nurses (adult, child & mental Health), midwives, operating department practitioners, Paramedics, Speech and language therapists, district nurses to include a range of simulated scenarios that advance and enhance their learning experience.
We are also developing an MSc Interprofessional Healthcare Simulation that is due to commence in January 2022. This Masters will take a broader view of simulation by incorporating economics and innovative uses of simulation (e.g. transformation of healthcare services) in addition to simulation-based education theory and practice.
Research
Our research focuses on equipment development and usability, simulation design (including empirically-based simulation design), its effectiveness and transferability to practice, and innovative scenarios, uses and models.
Enterprise
It is important to us that the equipment and facilities we use to conduct high-quality simulation experiences and that meets our learner’s needs are available. We therefore work closely with industry to ensure that these needs are communicated and realised. We currently have partnerships with various simulation-focused companies and are always open to good mutually beneficial partnerships.
Group Leader:
Dr Sharon Marie Weldon
Group members:
Lee Jagodzinski
Charles Everard
Dr Ryan Essex
Dr Marrianne Markwoski
Dr Damian Poulter
Dr Gina Finnerty
Prof Karen Cleaver
Patricia Evans
Rob Slee
Austin Parsons
Alice Neal
Prof. Jill Jameson
Prof. Gordon Ade-Ojo
Tolu Salako
Dr Thomas Evans
Dr Calvin Burns
