Michelle Aebersold

Innovative Simulation Strategies in Education

The use of simulation in the undergraduate nursing curriculum is gaining popularity and is becoming a foundation of many nursing programs. The purpose of this paper is to highlight a new simulation teaching strategy, virtual reality (VR) simulation, which capitalizes on the technological skills of the new generation student. This small-scale pilot study focused on improving interpersonal skills in senior level nursing students using VR simulation. In this study, a repeated-measure design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of VR simulation on improving students performance over a series of two VR scenarios. Using the Emergency Medicine Crisis Resource Management (EMCRM) tool, student performance was evaluated. Overall, the total EMCRM score improved but not significantly. The subscale areas of communication (P = .047, 95% CI: − 1.06, −.007) and professional behavior (P = .003, 95% CI: − 1.12, −.303) did show a significant improvement between the two scenario exposures. Findings from this study show the potential for virtual reality simulations to have an impact on nursing student performance.

Improving nursing students' communication skills using crew resource management strategies

To provide optimal patient care, all members of the health care team must effectively communicate patient status and the current plan of care. The Crew Resource Management (CRM) training system has been successfully used in the aviation industry to manage human error and reduce risk in the operational environment. CRM focuses on behaviors that support communication and teamwork and is modifiable to be used in nursing education. A version of CRM-nursing crew resource management-was implemented in a group of senior undergraduate nursing students. Students were satisfied with the program, and in a subsequent simulation they demonstrated the ability to use the communication techniques learned.

Improved outcomes in patients with head and neck cancer using a standardized care protocol for postoperative alcohol withdrawal.

OBJECTIVE To show clinical benefit in the main outcome measures by the use of a standardized protocol for identification, characterization, and treatment of alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) in postoperative patients with head and neck cancer. DESIGN Prospective cohort study with a retrospective cohort control. SETTING Tertiary care university. PATIENTS A total of 26 consecutive postoperative patients with AWS were selected from among 652 patients with head and neck cancer to be enrolled in the protocol from March 2003 through March 2005. Controls consisted of 14 of 981 consecutive patients with AWS from March 2000 through December 2002. INTERVENTION Application of a standardized care protocol. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Sensitivity and specificity of preoperative screening for AWS risk, predictability of outcomes, length of stay, transfers to the intensive care unit (ICU), AWS symptoms, postoperative morbidity and mortality, doses of pharmacotherapy required, and charges. RESULTS Protocol patients demonstrated significantly fewer AWS-related ICU transfers and less delirium and violence than preprotocol patients. Mortality, wound complications, hospital charges, and doses of benzodiazepines, clonidine, and haloperidol were not significantly different between these 2 groups. Preoperative medical history correlated poorly with AWS outcomes. Screening was 87.5% sensitive and 99.7% specific. Late enrollees to the protocol (false-negative screening results) showed many significantly worse outcomes than immediate enrollees. CONCLUSION Use of the standardized AWS symptom-triggered protocol decreased delirium, violence, and AWS-related ICU transfers without significantly increasing hospital charges.

An Intervention to Improve Nursing Teamwork Using Virtual Simulation

The purpose of this study was to test the use of virtual simulation to improve teamwork among nursing staff. Using a quasi-experimental design, nursing staff (n = 43) from one patient care unit participated in a 1-hr session, which focused on common nursing teamwork problems. The overall mean teamwork scores improved from pre- (M = 3.25, SD = 0.58) to post-intervention (M = 3.49, SD = 0.67, p < .012). The intervention also had large (0.60 ≤ d ≤ 0.97) and significant effects on the measures of three teamwork subscales (i.e., trust, team orientation, and backup).

Using Simulation to Improve the Use of Evidence-Based Practice Guidelines

Nurses in health care today need to practice from an evidence base. There are many models to guide nurses in using the evidence in their practice; however, often nurses rely on their own mental processes to deliver care and do not rely on protocols or guidelines. The challenge often is not to teach the correct evidence-based practice guideline but to support the nurse to incorporate the guidelines into daily practice. Simulation is a method that can be used in an overall strategy to diffuse evidence-based practice guidelines at the point of care delivery.

Interprofessional simulation on nurse interruptions

This project was an initial attempt to help nonnurses who will potentially work in the health care field to gain an understanding of the impact of distractions and interruptions on nurses. Graduate students in the Institute for Health Care Improvement Open School participated in an unfolding simulation in a hospital setting to expose them to the challenges of providing care in a work environment that often includes multiple interruptions.

Improving student critical thinking skills through a root cause analysis pilot project.

The Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice provides a framework for building the baccalaureate education for the twenty-first century. One of the exemplars included in the essentials toolkit includes student participation in an actual root cause analysis (RCA) or failure mode effects analysis. To align with this exemplar, faculty at the University of Michigan School of Nursing developed a pilot RCA project for the senior-level Leadership and Management course. While working collaboratively with faculty and unit liaisons at the University Health System, students completed an RCA on a nursing sensitive indicator (pain assessment or plan of care compliance). An overview of the pilot project, including the implementation process, is described. Each team of students identified root causes and recommendations for improvement on clinical and documentation practice within the context of the unit. Feedback from both the unit liaisons and the students confirmed the pilots success.

The History of Simulation and Its Impact on the Future

ABSTRACT Simulation has had a long and varied history in many different fields, including aviation and the military. A look into the past to briefly touch on some of the major historical aspects of simulation in aviation, military, and health care will give readers a broader understanding of simulations historical roots and the relationship to patient safety. This review may also help predict what the future may hold for simulation in nursing. Health care, like aviation, is driven by safety, more specifically patient safety. As the link between simulation and patient safety becomes increasingly apparent, simulation will be adopted as the education and training method of choice for such critical behaviors as communication and teamwork skills.

Effective followership: A standardized algorithm to resolve clinical conflicts and improve teamwork

In healthcare, the sustained presence of hierarchy between team members has been cited as a common contributor to communication breakdowns. Hierarchy serves to accentuate either actual or perceived chains of command, which may result in team members failing to challenge decisions made by leaders, despite concerns about adverse patient outcomes. While other tools suggest improved communication, none focus specifically on communication skills for team followers, nor do they provide techniques to immediately challenge authority and escalate assertiveness at a given moment in real time. This article presents data that show one such strategy, called the Effective Followership Algorithm, offering statistically significant improvements in team communication across the professional continuum from students and residents to experienced clinicians.

AVATARS TRAVEL FOR FREE: VIRTUAL ACCESS TO EVIDENCE-BASED INTERVENTION TRAINING AND CAPACITY BUILDING

Virtual facilitator trainings have the potential to accelerate the dissemination of evidence-based interventions by increasing accessibility and affordability. We explore the feasibility and acceptability of translating facilitator trainings of ¡Cuídate!, an evidence-based sexual risk intervention for Latino youth, to a multi-user virtual environment (Second Life). We describe the adaptation process and compare participant ratings of face-to-face (n = 35) and Second Life trainings (n = 26). Second Life participants reported that training resources, activities, and demonstrations were good/very good (97%, 88.5%, 94%). While face-to-face participants rated training process outcomes significantly higher than those in Second Life (p < 0.05), these differences may not be practically significant given high ratings overall. Results suggest that virtual trainings are an acceptable and feasible option for training community facilitators on evidence-based interventions. This study contributes to the development of trainings necessary to disseminate and implement evidence-based interventions and is an important effort in providing end-users with access to trainings in order to provide needed community services.