Basing patient safety education on real student experience: Development of a multinational simulation scenario: Patient safety education via simulation

Aim
To develop a prototype simulation scenario based on real student experiences that facilitates patient safety learning.

Background
Implicit learning during clinical placements includes understandings of patient safety issues. Educational approaches such as simulation scenarios offer ways to improve the learning process and students’ awareness of patient safety. The European Project ‘Shared Learning from Practice to Improve Patient Safety’ (SLIPPS, 2017-2019) used the SLIPPS Learning Event Recording Tool (SLERT) to collect details of nursing students’ experiences of workplace events they identified as possible threats to patient safety. These experiences informed development of a realistic interprofessional scenario about patient safety.

Design
A European multi-phase project to create a prototype video scenario and related resources using data reported by nursing students.

Methods
A Prototype role-play scenario was developed, using international guidelines for safe practice. The simulation topic, type of students, and scenario description were developed using SLERT data from Italian nursing students. The clinical relevance of the scenario was confirmed by comparison with themes derived from 326 reports of patient-safety incidents collected from 296 undergraduate nursing and 30 midwifery students from Italy, England, Finland, Spain, and Norway. Students role-played the scenario and then participated in a debriefing session which was videoed, transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed to explore their experiences, emotions and learning.

Results
A video of the scenario and a range of related prototype materials were produced. Participation in the scenario was reported to have positive impacts such as: “feeling more safe” while performing nursing activities and more timely detection and reporting of errors. Nursing students reported that participation in the scenario taught important lessons about communication, listening to patients and healthcare collaboration. They also reported that dedicating time to discussion of each phase of the care process was important. The prototype scenario formed the basis for the creation of subsequent scenarios across the SLIPPs European countries (SLIPPS.EU).

Conclusions
The role-playing methodology of the scenario provided opportunity for reflection on patient safety and improved interprofessional understanding and communication in an emotionally safe environment. Using students’ workplace experience to develop realistic and relevant scenarios may improve the safety of their future professional practice and enrich their future role as educators.