Awakening healthcare professionals to the rigorous use of personal protective equipment and the importance of communication are the main objectives of the new COVID-19 vaccination course delivered for free to healthcare workers internationally by Body Interact.
All healthcare professionals involved in the COVID-19 vaccination process must have the appropriate knowledge and skills to safely and clearly ensure the administration of COVID-19 vaccines. The COVID-19 Vaccination Course developed by Body Interact – virtual patient simulator created by Take The Wind (TTW) – in partnership with the Portuguese Red Cross arises from the need to standardize practices during the different stages of the vaccination process.
For Leila Sales, coordinator of the Nursing Course of the School of Health of the Portuguese Red Cross, the course “will allow caregivers to value the essential communication aspects for proper data collection and clinical assessment“, thus ensuring “safe decision-making“. Also, learning how to act in situations from serious adverse reactions is “essential for professionals to feel safe and better prepared to intervene if this type of complications arises in the clinical context”.
The course provides the user with access to 4 modules, 3 of which are directed to different types of approved and in-use vaccines, and a fourth scenario with the presentation of an allergic reaction to the vaccination. With its focus on communicating and implementing individual protection measures, the user is invited to assess the patient regarding the possible administration of the vaccine, review of exclusion methods, clarification of the possible adverse reactions, and scheduling the administration of the second dose.
For the TTW’s CEO, Pedro Pinto, the partnership with the Red Cross contributed to the “integration of the valuable experience and clinical practice in different contexts of action of an organization of excellence as the Red Cross, with a digital platform and advanced training technology delivered with virtual patients through Body Interact.
By providing the course for free to all healthcare professionals, TTW presents a new contribution to the achievement of the unique global effort of mass vaccination. “Hoping to contribute to the greatest possible safety of citizens and professionals involved,” concluded Pedro Pinto.
