Abstract
The integration of technology into the education and continuous professional education of allied health professionals is evolving. Integrating simulation as an authentic instructional modality has changed how clinicians learn and practice the clinical knowledge, skills, and abilities they are required to be competent in to ensure patient safety. A lot of advances have been made in the utilization of simulation in various domains. Continuing medical education is such a domain, and this chapter will briefly describe the history of simulation, present simulation as an authentic instructional activity, examine education trends of using simulation-based learning, highlight two applicable theoretical frameworks, and present a case study that effectively utilized simulation as an authentic instructional strategy and assessment during a continuing medical education course for athletic trainers.
TopSection 1: A Brief History Of Simulation
Simulation dates back to the 1940s, when it was successfully incorporated into training professionals on flight simulators who worked in high-risk environments. Since then, simulation and its application broadened into the military, civic aviators, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), who all have utilized simulators to train their pilots and astronauts for hypothetically catastrophic in-flight situations (Rosen, 2008). When utilizing simulation to train professionals, they are provided with the ability to practice their behavior in a high-risk, potentially life-threatening, situation. More importantly, pilots and astronauts learn how to effectively behave and manage such situations without risking an actual injury to themselves or others. With this being said, there is a direct connection with utilizing simulation in the healthcare domain to advance the delivery of healthcare and improve the safety of the patients (Byrne, 2013).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Allied Health Professional: Medically trained professionals including but not limited to, Athletic Trainers, Nurses, Medical Doctors, and Physical Therapists. These professionals are trained in and apply their knowledge and skill to restore and maintain optimal human health.
Competence: The ability to do something well and according to professional standards.
Continuous Professional Education: A method to promote the development of knowledge, skills, and abilities required to stay current on the changing demands of professional practice.
Athletic Trainer: An allied health professional that works in collaboration with a physician and is specialized in the prevention, diagnosis, therapeutic intervention, and rehabilitation of orthopedic injuries, and management of emergencies and medical conditions.
Fidelity: The designated level of how life-like and realistic the simulator is.
Cardiac Auscultation: A skill that healthcare professionals utilize to identify cardiovascular disease with a stethoscope.
Authentic Assessment: An examination that determines the learners’ ability and readiness to apply the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to be a competent practitioner before encountering situations in real professional life.
Simulation-Based Learning: A learning environment that provides the learner with hands-on experiences to practice the application of clinically relevant technical or non-technical skills.