Debriefing with team deliberate practice: Accelerating learning curves to maximise delivery and optimise participant learning in simulation-based education

Background:
The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the development of debriefing with team deliberate practice (DwTDP) as an innovative instructional design. The author will present their research findings and discuss the application and viability of this approach in simulation-based education and its application to healthcare, and in particular, nurse education.

Despite a growing evidence base for the use of simulation as a learning and teaching methodology Anderson and colleagues found a wide variation in the quality of delivery and recommended further research into those instructional design features that enhance learning. A challenge to simulation educators as the approach is both expensive and resource intensive. A literature review identified the deliberate practice framework offered a possible solution. To implement this into a naturalistic curricula setting the author developed a simulation-based educational enhancement entitled debriefing with team deliberate practice (DwTDP), which incorporated the key elements of team working, debriefing and deliberate practice into an innovative educational strategy.

Methodology:
Using a quasi-experimental longitudinal pre-post design, the researcher explored the effect of DwTDP on the performance, knowledge and self-efficacy of second year adult nursing students (N = 93). Naturally occurring student groups were randomised into either the intervention arm (n = 8), and received the DwTDP enhancement, or the comparison arm (n = 8) who received a traditional SBE experience.

Results:
Pre and post data was collected at three time points over the course of one year and included the video captured of the students’ performance and their knowledge and self-efficacy scores. This was analyzed using a series of statistical techniques. A mixed ANOVA analysis identified that over time DwTDP led to a statistically significant improvement in the performance of participants (F(1, 6) = 19.12, p = .005). No statistically significant effects were found in the knowledge and self-efficacy of participants.

Conclusion:
The author concluded that the DwTDP intervention was a viable approach to use within nurse education as it appeared to accelerate the learning curves of the participants thus optimising student learning whilst maximizing the use of available resources. The author therefore recommends the use of this approach within adult nursing pre-registration curricula.