Educational potential of a virtual patient system for caring for traumatized patients in primary care

Background: Virtual Patients (VPs) have been used in undergraduate healthcare education for many years. This project is focused on using VPs for training professionals to care for highly vulnerable patient populations. The aim of the study was to evaluate if Refugee Trauma VPs was perceived as an effective and engaging learning tool by primary care professionals (PCPs) in a Primary Health Care Centre (PHC). Methods: A VP system was designed to create realistic and engaging VP cases for Refugee Trauma for training refugee patient interview, use of established trauma and mental health instruments as well as to give feedback to the learners. The patient interview section was based on video clips with a Bosnian actor with a trauma story and mental health problems. The video clips were recorded in Bosnian language to further increase the realism, but also subtitled in English. The system was evaluated by 11 volunteering primary health clinicians at the Lynn Community Health Centre, Lynn, Massachusetts, USA. The participants were invited to provide insights/feedback about the system’s usefulness and educational value. A mixed methodological approach was used, generating both quantitative and qualitative data. Results: Self-reported dimensions of clinical care, pre and post questionnaire questions on the PCPs clinical worldview, motivation to use the VP, and IT Proficiency. Construct items used in these questionnaires had previously demonstrated high face and construct validity. The participants ranked the mental status examination more positively after the simulation exercise compared to before the simulation. Follow up interviews supported the results. Conclusions: Even though virtual clinical encounters are quite a new paradigm in PHC, the participants in the present study considered our VP case to be a relevant and promising educational tool. Next phase of our project will be a RCT study including comparison with specially prepared paper-cases and determinative input on improving clinical diagnosis and treatment of the traumatized refugee patient

NoObesity Apps – from approach to finished app

Obesity is still a growing public health problem in the UK and many healthcare workers find it challenging to have a discussion with service users about this sensitive topic. They also feel they are not competent to provide the relevant heath advice and are seeking easily accessible, evidence-based, mobile health learning (mHealth). mHealth applications (apps) such as the Professional NoObesity and Family NoObesity (due for release late 2018), have been designed to: support families with making sustainable positive behaviour changes to their health and well-being, ease pressure on practitioners’ overweight and obesity care related workloads, as well as to support the education of professionals, students and service users. This paper describes the process of designing the apps from the inception of the idea, through the stages of research, app builds and testing. The processes of collaborative working to design and develop the apps to meet the needs of both service users and health professionals will also be reflected upon. Childhood obesity is an complex problem and whilst it is recognised that the NoObesity apps cannot singlehandedly resolve this health crisis, it is proposed that they can support families to identify and reduce the barriers that prevent them from living healthier, happier lives

Virtual Patients as an innovative educational tool in transcultural psychiatry

Background: The dramatic increase in the number of patients with diverse ethnic backgrounds who have been exposed to severe mental trauma demonstrates that there is an urgent need for improvement in the quality of transcultural psychiatric health care through the development and evaluation of relevant and effective training tools. Aim: This thesis describes the development and scientific study of a new medical educational tool based on Virtual Patient (VP) methodology and the evaluation of different aspects that highlight its educational potentials as a train environment for the clinical management of traumatised refugee patients. Methods: We developed a dedicated VP system that portrayed a refugee with severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. This was tested by a group of resident psychiatrists and evaluated in terms of user acceptance, expectations and attitudes as well as how it affected confidence levels in different aspects of providing clinical care for this patient group and core knowledge about related psychiatric conditions and communication skills. Results: The participants responded in a positive way towards this new educational system. It was perceived as being highly realistic and there were high acceptance levels. A statistically significant improvement was exhibited in overall confidence in providing medical care for traumatized refugee patients as well as in four more specific domains of clinical care, with the area of identifying and evaluating trauma-related diagnoses and disability showing the most prominent improvement. A statistically significant improvement in core knowledge about trauma-related psychiatric diagnoses and basic communication skills was exhibited directly after the interaction with the VP. Conclusions: Based on the results presented in this thesis it is concluded that the proposed VP-system demonstrated high acceptance among participants and good potential as a training tool for the clinical management of refugee patients. The results suggest that it can lead to resident psychiatrists’ improvement of confidence in providing transcultural clinical care for this vulnerable patient group. It can also successfully facilitate the acquisition of core knowledge in the field of psychiatry. Longitudinal studies with several VPs exhibiting different psychiatric disorders are needed in the future in order to scientifically study whether these impacts are sustainable

Serious Games – An Overview

Abstract This report discusses some issues concerning serious games, that is, (digital) games used for purposes other than mere entertainment. The starting point is the serious games concept itself, and what the actually means. Further, serious games allow learners to experience situations that are impossible in the real world for reasons of safety, cost, time, etc., but they are also claimed to have positive impacts on the players' development of a number of different skills. Subsequently, some possible positive (and negative) impacts of serious games are discussed. Further, some of the markets such games are used in are considered here, including, military games, government games, educational games, corporate games, and healthcare games. This report also identifies some (mainly academic) actors in the North American and the European serious games market. This report is part of the DISTRICT (Developing Industrial Strategies Through Innovative Cluster and Technologies) project: Serious Games Cluster and Business Network (SER3VG), which is part of the Interreg IIIC Programme

Contributors to the Development of Intercultural Competence in Nursing Students

Nurses deal more effectively with cultural diversity when they have an ethnorelative orientation toward cultural difference and commonality on the Intercultural Development Continuum, which was the theoretical framework of this study. Scholarly literature shows limited knowledge on what fosters nurses\u27 intercultural development. Thus, this quantitative, retrospective study was the first investigation in health care in Switzerland conducted on nursing students\u27 orientation on the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) and the relationship to student demographic variables. The sample for this secondary data analysis consisted of the IDI results from nursing students enrolled between 2010 and 2016 at the largest nursing college in Switzerland (N = 3,410) where the systematic integration of the development of intercultural competence into the curriculum began in 2010. Descriptive statistical analysis indicated that the students\u27 developmental orientation (DO) toward cultural difference and commonality represented a mindset of minimization (M = 86.3, SD = 13.7), whereas the orientation gap between the DO and the students\u27 perceived orientation (PO) was high (M = 32.5), indicating that students believe they have higher intercultural competence than they have. Chi-square-tests revealed significant relationships between gender, age, and time living in another country and the students\u27 PO and DO. The paired samples t test demonstrated a higher end of program DO (p = .01) compared to beginning DO scores, suggesting the program provided challenges that met the students\u27 level of readiness for cultural development. The findings may affect positive social change by providing knowledge on contributors to development of intercultural competence that educators can use

"Speak slowly I don't understand" : communication and cultural competence in the ERASMUS + experience in nurse education

Two of the main objectives of ERASMUS+ are to enable students to develop language skills and cultural competence (European Commission, 2014a). Sweeney (2010) recommends that the ERASMUS experience should take place in the language of the host country as the underpinning belief of the 1999 Bologna agreement is that learning in a foreign language can provide cultural enrichment. Despite this recommendation the majority of 3rd year nursing students from the Scottish university where part of this study took place, have an ERASMUS clinical experience and are unable to speak the language of the host country. The aim of this research was to explore how language constraints influence cultural competence and professional development in an ERASMUS placement for student nurses. A social constructivist, multiple case study was used to investigate each case individually and to illuminate the quintain (Stake, 2006). The quintain was students’ clinical placement within four countries (Finland, Sweden, Italy and Spain). The research methods used were one-to-one interviews with 12 mentors and 13 students and interval contingent diaries (Thomas, 2016) to capture students’ feelings about the challenges that they encountered in clinical practice and the perceived benefits of an ERASMUS placement on a day to day basis. NVivo 11 qualitative software was used for coding and thematic analysis. Results showed that students had an expectation that most of the hospital staff in host countries would speak English. The inability to speak the host language led to constraints in clinical practice. Students were unable to speak to patients, read patients’ notes and enter information in patient records. Consequently, mentors spent about 70 – 100 percentage of their time with students and acted as language and cultural brokers. Only with this kind of support were students able to have direct cultural encounters with patients. Despite the inability to speak the language, the findings indicated that the ERASMUS experience had personal and professional benefits for students. These benefits included a development of confidence in life and practice skills. In addition, critical thinking was developed through comparing the health care system and practices in the host country with the student’s own country. Although students did develop professional and cultural knowledge the acquisition of the host language prior to the ERASMUS experience would have increased student independence. Consequently, many students felt they performed as 2nd year instead of 3rd year students and would have had more autonomy in patient care management in their home country.Two of the main objectives of ERASMUS+ are to enable students to develop language skills and cultural competence (European Commission, 2014a). Sweeney (2010) recommends that the ERASMUS experience should take place in the language of the host country as the underpinning belief of the 1999 Bologna agreement is that learning in a foreign language can provide cultural enrichment. Despite this recommendation the majority of 3rd year nursing students from the Scottish university where part of this study took place, have an ERASMUS clinical experience and are unable to speak the language of the host country. The aim of this research was to explore how language constraints influence cultural competence and professional development in an ERASMUS placement for student nurses. A social constructivist, multiple case study was used to investigate each case individually and to illuminate the quintain (Stake, 2006). The quintain was students’ clinical placement within four countries (Finland, Sweden, Italy and Spain). The research methods used were one-to-one interviews with 12 mentors and 13 students and interval contingent diaries (Thomas, 2016) to capture students’ feelings about the challenges that they encountered in clinical practice and the perceived benefits of an ERASMUS placement on a day to day basis. NVivo 11 qualitative software was used for coding and thematic analysis. Results showed that students had an expectation that most of the hospital staff in host countries would speak English. The inability to speak the host language led to constraints in clinical practice. Students were unable to speak to patients, read patients’ notes and enter information in patient records. Consequently, mentors spent about 70 – 100 percentage of their time with students and acted as language and cultural brokers. Only with this kind of support were students able to have direct cultural encounters with patients. Despite the inability to speak the language, the findings indicated that the ERASMUS experience had personal and professional benefits for students. These benefits included a development of confidence in life and practice skills. In addition, critical thinking was developed through comparing the health care system and practices in the host country with the student’s own country. Although students did develop professional and cultural knowledge the acquisition of the host language prior to the ERASMUS experience would have increased student independence. Consequently, many students felt they performed as 2nd year instead of 3rd year students and would have had more autonomy in patient care management in their home country

CercleS 2022

CHAIRPERSON Manuel Moreira da Silva, Instituto Politécnico do Porto, Portugal EDITORS Ana Gonçalves, Estoril Higher Institute for Tourism and Hotel Studies, Portugal Célia Tavares, Instituto Politécnico do Porto, Portugal Joaquim Guerra, Universidade do Algarve, Portugal Luciana Oliveira, Instituto Politécnico do Porto, Portugal Manuel Moreira da Silva, Instituto Politécnico do Porto, Portugal Ricardo Soares, Instituto Politécnico do Porto, PortugalCercleS 2022 The Future of Language Education in an Increasingly Digital World: Embracing ChangeN/

Developing sustainable business models for institutions’ provision of open educational resources: Learning from OpenLearn users’ motivations and experiences

Universities across the globe have, for some time, been exploring the possibilities for achieving public benefit and generating business and visibility through releasing and sharing open educational resources (OER). Many have written about the need to develop sustainable and profitable business models around the production and release of OER. Downes (2006), for example, has questioned the financial sustainability of OER production at scale. Many of the proposed business models focus on OER’s value in generating revenue and detractors of OER have questioned whether they are in competition with formal education. This paper reports on a study intended to broaden the conversation about OER business models to consider the motivations and experiences of OER users as the basis for making a better informed decision about whether OER and formal learning are competitive or complementary with each other. The study focused on OpenLearn - the Open University’s (OU) web-based platform for OER, which hosts hundreds of online courses and videos and is accessed by over 3,000,000 users a year. A large scale survey and follow-up interviews with OpenLearn users worldwide revealed that university provided OER can offer learners a bridge to formal education, allowing them to try out a subject before registering on a formal course and to build confidence in their abilities as learners. In addition, it was found that using OER during formal paid-for study can improve learners’ performance and self-reliance, leading to increased retention and satisfaction with the learning experience