Heartbeat: Clinical training transformed through simulation
March 12, 2019
Our medical student undergraduate simulation programme provides high quality training according to colleagues in pharmacy.
The programme, which runs regularly throughout the academic year is said to be better than the OSPEs [Objective Structured Pharmacist Examination] that students had to take previously.
Heartbeat caught up with Amardeep Singh, Lead Pharmacist for HIV/ GUM, to find out more about these collaborate workshops. He said: “From the perspective of the pharmacy training programme, the inter-professional scenarios provide better quality training. They are more cost-effective and less labour intensive than OSPEs – only one pre-registration tutor is needed to supervise and assist each time and the scenarios are easier to write.
“From the perspective of pre-registration trainees from last year, they provided a good insight into the roles and problem solving approach of doctors and helped the trainees better understand how they can provide collaborative support to improve patient care.”
“In addition to this, we believe that this is an excellent example of collaboration to deliver innovative and cost effect training on site.”
Inter-professional simulation workshops aim to increase the awareness of different healthcare professionals, their roles and ways of working, and give students an opportunity to reflect how they can work within a multidisciplinary team to improve patient outcomes. This is done within the framework of a programme of simulations that are provided for fifth year medical students by the clinical teaching fellows.
The main simulation programme is for final year medical students and is run by the clinical teaching fellows. The simulation scenarios are then adjusted to allow pre-registration pharmacists to participate. The simulations for pharmacists were developed by Amardeep and his colleague Alkash Hilal, Deputy Group Pharmacist for surgical services.
The training was first piloted in 2018 with very positive feedback from nursing and medical students and pre-registration pharmacists. There will be two more inter-professional simulation workshops in April at both our Sandwell and City sites. Further work is also taking place with the nursing education team with a view to develop multidisciplinary simulation scenarios with nursing students in the future.