Student Perceptions of the Effectiveness of Simulated Versus Clinical Experiences in Learning Clinical Skills

Abstract

Occupational therapy education programs use simulation and clinical environments to teach students clinical skills. However, students’ perceptions of how these environments meet their learning needs are not known. The objective of this study was to explore entry-level occupational therapy students’ perceptions of the effectiveness of simulation and clinical environments in learning clinical skills. This was an observational study, measuring the students’ perceptions after engaging in simulations and clinical environments. Participants were occupational therapy students enrolled in Master\u27s and Doctorate programs (N = 460) in five accredited entry-level occupational therapy programs. Students completed the Clinical Learning Environment Comparison Survey (CLECS). CLECS measures students’ perceptions of how well their learning needs were met in simulations and clinical learning environments in six domains. For the Total scale and Communication, Holism, Critical Thinking, and Teaching Learning Dyad subscales, students perceived that the clinical environment prepared them better than the simulated environment (p \u3c .05). For occupational therapy Process and Self-efficacy domains, students perceived no differences. However, the perception of the effect of the environment on learning was small for Total scale, Holism, and Critical Thinking (Cohen’s d = 0.31 – 0.40) and medium for Communication skills (Cohen’s d = 0.56). Students perceived a difference in how simulations versus clinical environments met their learning needs. Our findings emphasize the importance of context when designing student learning experiences