The role of simulation in developing communication and gestural skills in medical students

Abstract

Background: International studies have shown that laboratory training, particularly through the application of the principles of simulation learning, is an effective means of developing the communication and gestural skills of healthcare professionals. At the Advanced Simulation Center of the University of Genoa we have therefore established the first clinical skill laboratory with medical school students and an interprofessional team of trainers, as the first step towards developing simulation training of both medical and nursing students at our University. The aim of this study was to assess student satisfaction with laboratory training in an Advanced Simulation Center. Methods: All of the third-year students of the Medical School (n = 261) were invited to participate in the laboratory sessions at the Advanced Simulation Center. They were divided into groups and attended the Center for one week. The team of trainers included medical doctors and nurses involved in teaching at the University Medicine and Nursing programs. At the end of the week, the students were administered an anonymous questionnaire made up of two sections: the first one was on the content of individual laboratory sessions; the second on the training methods, materials used and the trainers. A five-point Likert scale was used to measure satisfaction.

Development of an In Situ Thoracic Surgery Crisis Simulation Focused on Nontechnical Skill Training

“…Validation is critical for any simulation program to be widely adopted, which includes proving simulation fidelity and validity [11]. Fidelity is how realistic the simulation felt to the participants and was here assessed by the previously described Method Material Member Overall (MMMO) questionnaire that is derived from previously validated fidelity tools [11][12][13]. Validity is broken down into the following three subcategories: content validity, construct validity, and predictive validity [11].…”

How can we characterize medical simulation environment as a specific type of medical environment?

“…Medical simulation is certainly a speci c educational environment, which should meet speci c requirements in order for educational activities to produce expected results. A few researchers have already attempted to de ne the role of simulation in medical education (25,26). For example, Reynolds et al (2008) presented a research aimed at assessing the impact of medical simulation-based teaching on students' knowledge and satisfaction with the teaching process.…”

Can the DREEM scale be adapted to the medical simulation environment?

“…Medical simulation is certainly a specific educational environment, which should meet specific requirements in order for the educational activities to produce the expected results. Researchers attempt to define the role of simulation in medical education (8,9). Reynolds et al (2008) present research aimed at assessing the impact of medical simulation-based teaching on students' knowledge and satisfaction with the teaching process.…”