CAREERS STUDENT LIFE
Acting out scenarios Students are learning primary care nursing skills in an environment that gives them a realistic experience of the patient journey, write Caroline Adam and Winifred McGarry The University of the West of Scotland’s school of health nursing and midwifery has been recognised in the Scottish Clinical Skills Strategy as a higher education institution that provides effective clinical skills training to pre-registration nursing students. Students need to learn more than just technical skills to practice effectively. They also need cognitive and non-technical skills such as team working and communication. Use of simulation is already a well-recognised education technique in acute physical nursing. Simulated learning about conditions encountered in primary care practice, however, is an under-researched area and little used. Acknowledging the increasing shift of care from acute hospitals to the community setting, staff in the nursing department at the University of the West of Scotland developed the ACORN (A Community Oriented Resource for Nursing) primary care suite. This is a simulated physical environment where events that take place commonly in primary care can be replicated and learned from by pre and post-registration students.
and non-technical skills in a safe, supported and realistic learning environment. This dynamic new development operates alongside the existing acute simulation technologies to provide a unique resource for students to learn about the complete patient journey. Future plans to incorporate an out-of-hours telehealth/ telecommunication station in collaboration with NHS24 (the NHS helpline in Scotland) colleagues will further enhance the students’ learning experience, build on their prioritisation and decision-making skills help prepare them for work.
Positive feedback The DOMUS home care setting scenario
The reception triage scenario
A GP or nurse consultant consultation scenario
The treatment room consultation scenario
The ACORN primary care simulation suite includes the following rooms: The DOMUS home care environment. A health centre reception. A GP/specialist nurse consulting room. A treatment room.
ACORN was rolled out across the university’s four campuses at the end of last year. Scenarios enacted in the suite are directed through tablet technology and organised so that students can take on the roles of the entire primary care team. The library of primary care scenarios has been created to suit each station (see box and images) and tablets are pre-loaded with resources to support each scenario, such as expected ranges for blood results, X-rays and colonoscopy footage. Using these resources, students can practise technical
Early evaluation of the ACORN project is overwhelmingly positive and has resulted in full investment and integration across all four university campuses at the University of the West of Scotland. These are examples of feedback received during the pilot: ‘I understand the importance of the decisions we make and how it may affect a patient.’ ‘I now can begin to understand how reception areas operate using the triage method.’ ‘The simulation gives a more realistic idea of our forthcoming community placements’ NS Caroline Adam and Winifred McGarry are adult nurse lecturers at the University of the West of Scotland RESOURCES Scottish Clinical Skills Strategy (2010) www.csmen.scot.nhs.uk RCN policy briefing: Moving Care to the Community: an International Perspective tinyurl.com/RCNPBMCC Student Life on the internet www.nursing-standard.co.uk/ students
66 january 21 :: vol 29 no 21 :: 2015 NURSING STANDARD Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Jul 04, 2016. For personal use only. No other uses without permission. Copyright © 2016 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
Acting out scenarios Students are learning primary care nursing skills in an environment that gives them a realistic experience of the patient journey, write Caroline Adam and Winifred McGarry The University of the West of Scotland’s school of health nursing and midwifery has been recognised in the Scottish Clinical Skills Strategy as a higher education institution that provides effective clinical skills training to pre-registration nursing students. Students need to learn more than just technical skills to practice effectively. They also need cognitive and non-technical skills such as team working and communication. Use of simulation is already a well-recognised education technique in acute physical nursing. Simulated learning about conditions encountered in primary care practice, however, is an under-researched area and little used. Acknowledging the increasing shift of care from acute hospitals to the community setting, staff in the nursing department at the University of the West of Scotland developed the ACORN (A Community Oriented Resource for Nursing) primary care suite. This is a simulated physical environment where events that take place commonly in primary care can be replicated and learned from by pre and post-registration students.
and non-technical skills in a safe, supported and realistic learning environment. This dynamic new development operates alongside the existing acute simulation technologies to provide a unique resource for students to learn about the complete patient journey. Future plans to incorporate an out-of-hours telehealth/ telecommunication station in collaboration with NHS24 (the NHS helpline in Scotland) colleagues will further enhance the students’ learning experience, build on their prioritisation and decision-making skills help prepare them for work.
Positive feedback The DOMUS home care setting scenario
The reception triage scenario
A GP or nurse consultant consultation scenario
The treatment room consultation scenario
The ACORN primary care simulation suite includes the following rooms: The DOMUS home care environment. A health centre reception. A GP/specialist nurse consulting room. A treatment room.
ACORN was rolled out across the university’s four campuses at the end of last year. Scenarios enacted in the suite are directed through tablet technology and organised so that students can take on the roles of the entire primary care team. The library of primary care scenarios has been created to suit each station (see box and images) and tablets are pre-loaded with resources to support each scenario, such as expected ranges for blood results, X-rays and colonoscopy footage. Using these resources, students can practise technical
Early evaluation of the ACORN project is overwhelmingly positive and has resulted in full investment and integration across all four university campuses at the University of the West of Scotland. These are examples of feedback received during the pilot: ‘I understand the importance of the decisions we make and how it may affect a patient.’ ‘I now can begin to understand how reception areas operate using the triage method.’ ‘The simulation gives a more realistic idea of our forthcoming community placements’ NS Caroline Adam and Winifred McGarry are adult nurse lecturers at the University of the West of Scotland RESOURCES Scottish Clinical Skills Strategy (2010) www.csmen.scot.nhs.uk RCN policy briefing: Moving Care to the Community: an International Perspective tinyurl.com/RCNPBMCC Student Life on the internet www.nursing-standard.co.uk/ students
66 january 21 :: vol 29 no 21 :: 2015 NURSING STANDARD Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Jul 04, 2016. For personal use only. No other uses without permission. Copyright © 2016 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
