On February 28th 2024, educators from the United States and Canada Community convened to exchange insights, personal experiences and best practices regarding the integration of Body Interact into Healthcare-focused educational programs, in the United in Learning: Body Interact Community Event 2024.
This gathering illuminated various perspectives on the versatile applications of Virtual Patients as an instructional aid throughout different health programs and different phases of curricula.
Speakers’ presentations:
Jen Mimish – College of Western Idaho
DNP, RRT-NPS, CNM, WHNP, CHSE
Simtegration and Escape Room as teaching approaches
Inspired by the online version developed by UCHealth, their program has modified and implemented a Pediatric Sepsis Escape Room tailored to the needs of third-semester nursing students.
The Pediatric Sepsis Escape Room serves as a catalyst for learning, fostering collaboration, communication, and a sense of urgency among students. Divided into teams, students are presented with a scenario where a pediatric patient exhibits signs of sepsis. With time ticking away, they must work together to decipher clues, prioritize interventions, and provide evidence-based care. As they navigate through the challenges of the escape room, students experience firsthand the importance of effective teamwork and communication in a high-pressure environment.
As students’ progress through the nursing program, they continue to engage in simulation-based learning activities, culminating in simtegration experiences during their final semester. Combining practical experiences with simulated scenarios, these activities provide students with a comprehensive understanding of patient care, allowing them to view the patient as a whole and prioritize actions accordingly.
The feedback from students has been overwhelmingly positive, with many expressing newfound confidence in their ability to make clinical decisions and prioritize care.
Jen Mimish remarked “It was real rewarding to see the connection happening at this moment and students responding with that genuine desire to do better and save the patient.”
Krista Claypool – J.O. Combs Unified School District
RN, BSN, RNC
Virtual Patients for Team-Based Learning
At J. O Combs Unified School District, Krista Claypool can tailor simulations to match the specific scenarios relevant to the topics being taught, thereby offering students a practical avenue to apply their theoretical knowledge. By immersing students in scenarios pertinent to their curriculum, she can create an environment conducive to active learning and skill development. This simulation sessions they designed to evoke a sense of realism, often placing students in stressful situations akin to those encountered in real-life settings. Moreover, by working through these scenarios collaboratively, students learn the value of teamwork and effective communication, essential skills in any professional setting.
To enhance the authenticity of the simulation, Krista often takes on the role of facilitators, stepping in as necessary to guide students through nursing interventions and provide valuable feedback.
However, perhaps the most crucial component of simulation-based learning lies in the debriefing process that follows. After the simulation exercise, students engage in reflective discussions led by the teacher. This debriefing session serves as a platform for students to evaluate their performance, identify areas for improvement, and gain insights into their strengths and weaknesses.
Krista is also using Body Interact amongst District Nurses and to strengthening health office staff teams.
Jacqueline Schmid – RN, MN, CHSE
Sharla Adams – George Brown College RN, MN
Teaching and curriculum integration in Nursing Curriculum of Body Interact to enhance the development of clinical reasoning
Initially adopted as an online resource during the COVID-19 pandemic, Body Interact has now found its permanent home in a dedicated space, providing students with an immersive learning environment that promotes the development of clinical judgment and critical thinking skills.
The integration of Body Interact into nursing education comes at a pivotal time, coinciding with a shift in licensing exams towards the clinical judgment model. This model emphasizes the accumulation of knowledge and skills over time, recognizing that a nurse’s ability to analyze and synthesize patient data is essential for improving patient outcomes. With Body Interact, students are afforded the opportunity to practice and refine these crucial skills in a realistic and engaging setting.
A typical day in the Body Interact simulation room begins with students spending eight hours immersed in a combination of virtual patient encounters and hands-on simulation exercises. Armed with a clinical judgment model written on a whiteboard as their guide, learners are tasked with collecting and documenting various assessments while utilizing cues provided by the virtual patient. This interactive approach encourages students to analyze data systematically and identify findings that warrant further exploration.
Throughout the simulation, facilitators play a vital role in guiding students through the decision-making process. They may pose probing questions or suggest alternative options, prompting learners to think critically and consider multiple perspectives. As students begin to generate hypotheses and formulate diagnoses for their virtual patients, they are encouraged to draw upon their knowledge base and clinical reasoning skills, fostering a deeper understanding of the complexities of patient care.
Ivan Wilmot – Cincinnati Children’s Hospital
MD
Body Interact in Postgarduate Medical Education
Dr. Wilmot’s presentation shed light on the critical importance of tailoring teaching methods to suit the learning preferences and needs of diverse populations.
In modern medical education, exists a notable disparity between traditional teaching models and the preferences of contemporary learners. Today, medical education places a strong emphasis on utilizing cutting-edge tools and techniques such as virtual case presentations, visual representations of medical scenarios, dynamic feedback mechanisms, and innovative teaching methodologies. It is within this evolving landscape that Body Interact emerges as a solution to many of the challenges faced by educators in the medical field.
Body Interact effectively addresses the evolving needs of medical education by offering a versatile platform that caters to the diverse learning styles of residents and fellows. Through its interactive simulations, learners can engage with clinical scenarios repeatedly, reinforcing their comprehension of complex medical concepts. Moreover, the platform allows users to customize scenarios based on their proficiency level, providing a personalized learning experience that adapts to individual learning needs.
Body Interact can integrate with other simulation resources such as task-trainers, manikins, and standardized patients. This integration enables learners to develop psychomotor and procedural skills in addition to their clinical reasoning abilities. By combining various educational modalities, educators can create comprehensive learning experiences that requires both cognitive and hands-on skill development.
In essence, Ivan Wilmot’s insights underscore the importance of leveraging innovative teaching tools like Body Interact to enhance postgraduate medical education. As the field continues to evolve, it is imperative for educators to embrace new technologies and teaching methodologies that cater to the diverse needs of modern learners. With its ability to facilitate interactive learning, dynamic feedback, and integration with other simulation resources, Body Interact stands at the forefront of medical education, empowering learners to excel in their clinical practice.
Carissa Jury – Jefferson County Public Schools (Pathfinder School of Innovation)
RN, BSN, MSNML, CEN
Synergy between healthcare practice and educational innovation
Carissa faced the challenge of bringing hands-on medical skills into the digital realm. With the absence of face-to-face interaction with her students, Carissa needed a tool that could effectively simulate clinical scenarios and foster critical thinking in a virtual environment.
Carissa’s classes are organized by body system, allowing for easy integration with Body Interact scenarios. This alignment ensures that each simulation is relevant to the topic at hand, enabling students to apply their theoretical knowledge to real-world clinical situations. Through repeated exposure to diverse scenarios, students develop clinical reasoning skills and learn to think logically through complex medical scenarios.
One of the key features of Body Interact is its emphasis on teamwork. In each simulation, all students are actively involved, with each member of the team playing a crucial role in problem-solving. Even if they are not directly participating in solving a scenario, students remain engaged by observing and learning from their peers’ experiences.
Moreover, Body Interact provides a safe and immersive simulation environment where students can practice and refine their skills without the fear of making mistakes. The platform’s adaptive grading feature allows educators like Carissa to tailor assessments to meet the specific needs of their students.
By Maria Carolina Ferreira – Customer Trainer / Registered Nurse
