Measuring and Describing Occupational Therapists’ Perceptions of the Impact of High-Fidelity, High-Technology Simulation Experiences on Performance

Abstract

Importance: As the use of simulation in occupational therapy education continues to increase, so too does the need for continued research on its impact on clinical practice performance and the value of simulation as a pedagogic method. Objective: To develop a survey to measure the perceived impact of high-fidelity, high-technology simulation experiences during occupational therapy education on occupational therapists’ performance and to describe occupational therapists’ perceptions of the impact of simulation on clinical skills. Design: Cross-sectional descriptive study. Setting: Online survey administration. Participants: Occupational therapists completed an online survey to measure their perceptions of the impact of high-fidelity, high-technology simulation experiences on essential skills in four performance domains: confidence, knowledge, clinical skills, and patient safety skills. Results: Sixty-seven occupational therapists perceived participation in simulation experiences during occupational therapy education had more impact on transferring clients and using safe body mechanics than on communicating with clients, assessing vital signs, or applying clinical reasoning. The survey items had evidence of content validity, and scores showed good internal consistency reliability. Conclusions: Survey results suggested high-fidelity, high-technology simulation during occupational therapy education may affect clinical practice performance. Additional research is needed to determine the effectiveness of simulation education in preparing occupational therapists for clinical practice. What This Article Adds: The survey developed in this study is a reliable measure of the impact of simulation experiences on clinical practice performance of occupational therapists.

The use of simulation in occupational therapy education: A scoping review

“…The use of mannequins, discussed in five papers, appears more common in North America, with no studies from other countries involving this form of simulation (Gibbs et al, 2017;Ozelie et al, 2016;Reichl et al, 2019;Thomas et al, 2017;Zamjahn et al, 2018). Mannequin simulation appears to be common practice within other healthcare professions (Evans et al, 2019) and comprises a range of equipment from, at its most basic, part-task models which allow students to practice one specific task, through to human simulators which take the form of fullbody human mannequins equipped with sensors to simulate changes in homeostatic functions.…”

“…Communication skills with other professionals, rather than with clients, are highlighted in mannequin-based studies, with Reichl et al (2019) finding limited impact on communication and one participant in Thomas et al's (2017) study commenting that working with a mannequin did not encourage appropriate communication. Although Ozelie et al (2016), Thomas et al (2017), andZamjahn et al (2018) acknowledge the importance of developing empathy, none of the studies report directly on development of this skill.…”