Healthcare simulation is an incredible opportunity for healthcare professionals to be able to participate in a reflective practice. This allows healthcare staff to be able to assess clinical and team based actions, decisions, and behaviors in a psychologically safe space. This article by Erin Carn-Bennett, RN, MSN, will explore the concept of reflective practices, goal setting and professional development in relation to both healthcare simulation participants and faculty.
Reflective Practices in Healthcare Simulation is Vital
Clinical simulation gives space to both individuals and teams to be able to have time to pause and also reflect on their clinical skills. This opportunity to pause in a psychologically safe space can assist to consider the depth of both strengths and areas for improvement in clinical and team based care. Reflection is an incredibly essential part of clinical simulation both for participants and healthcare simulation educators. Clinical simulation is an educational environment in which everyone has the opportunity to be continuously learning if participating in regular reflective practices to improve either clinical care or education delivery.
Healthcare simulation is able to promote reflection effectively if psychological safety is present in debrief circles. When clinical simulation participants are able to reflect on and also critically analyze their individual and team based performances this can enable considerations to be made to practice for next time and therefore improved patient care provision. As healthcare simulation occurs often within real time, this allows participants to be able to identify stress points and also develop strategies for how to overcome this for next time.
Feedback from expert clinical simulation facilitators and healthcare team peers in clinical simulation experiences are essential to guide healthcare staff’s reflective journey. This guidance from others can assist to refine clinical decision making, teamwork and interpersonal communication. Feedback from multiple perspectives in clinical simulation debriefs can encourage healthcare staff to hear about how experiences were for other members of the team and can assist with personal and professional growth.
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Healthcare simulation can assist healthcare staff to be able to identify gaps in their clinical knowledge and skills. The identification of knowledge gaps either for clinical or healthcare simulation staff can assist them to consider how to set goals to improve their clinical care of educational delivery goals. Healthcare simulation experiences can be a great start point for clinical simulation participants to be able to move forward with education based goals.
How to Set Goals
The SMART goal setting method (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) framework allows healthcare staff to be able to create goals that are realistic and assist with professional development requirements. As a facilitator of healthcare simulation this would look like goals centered around professional development in order to advance skillsets in healthcare simulation facilitation and course design. As a clinical simulation participant this would look like goals around attendance to future clinical simulation and other education based experiences which would assist with advancement in clinical care provision.
Healthcare simulation provides professional development opportunities for novice and also experienced healthcare staff to be able to refine their clinical and teamwork skills. Engagement in healthcare simulation allows healthcare staff opportunities to be able to hone many skills throughout their careers and ensures that clinical staff remain adaptable and prepared. Even the most senior clinicians, nurses and allied health staff require access to healthcare simulation experiences so that reflection and adaptation to clinical care can occur.
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Healthcare simulation encourages a lifelong learning mindset for both facilitators and clinical simulation participants. Professional development as well as continual reflective practices are incredibly important for healthcare simulation staff. This may look like opportunities for growth and expansion in areas such as: new debrief methodologies, new clinical simulation methodologies, debrief skills and more.
In order to be an effective healthcare simulation facilitator there is a requirement for more than just clinical knowledge. There are also requirements for strong leadership and interpersonal skills which can take years to become skilled in to then translate into effective debrief skills. Enhancement of lead and co-leader debrief skills requires feedback to be communicated constructively by more senior colleagues and mentors. Through this process a supportive learning environment is key in order to advance professionally and is formed only through a high level of trust and psychological safety.
Goals can be set in order to advance professionally in a healthcare simulation educator role through attendance to leadership training programs, reading publications and books on team dynamics and adult learning theory and to seek mentorship from more experienced clinical simulation facilitators. Development of emotional intelligence, particularly stress management, allows clinical simulation educators to be able to adapt to different learner styles. These skills are also important to acquire as they motivate healthcare simulation participants and make individuals a more effective and respected clinical simulation facilitator.
Mentorship for Healthcare Simulation Educators Matters
Mentorship from a senior healthcare simulation educator can be very valuable for professional development. Mentors provide guidance, feedback, and guide reflective processes for those new to the industry with skills in areas such as debrief of the debrief.
The debrief of the debrief is incredibly useful for all healthcare simulation facilitators. This reflective practice can be extremely profound for debriefers of all experience levels to consider what skills to try out or adapt for next time. As debrief skills can take years to acquire, this process is incredibly beneficial to this process.
Participation in many professional development opportunities such as workshops, online courses, conferences and webinars are essential in any healthcare simulation staff role. This participation will assist individuals to remain current with healthcare simulation practices. Time for guided and also individual self-reflection can raise awareness to individuals strengths and weaknesses as a clinical simulation facilitator. This can in turn assist team members to identify areas for improvement and focus for educational efforts.
This article has focused on reflection, goal setting and mentorship in order to advance clinical simulation careers and professional development. Discussions have been centered around why reflection in healthcare simulation environments is vital, how to set goals and also professional development opportunities for both the clinical simulation participant and facilitator. These practices matter and should be considered to be adopted by all involved in healthcare simulation. Read more:
Benefits of Professional Development for the Healthcare Simulation Teams
