An online Simulated Community for Interprofessional Learning

1
An on-line Simulated Community for
Inter-professional Learning
Andy Pulman - IHCS apulman_at_bournemouth.ac.uk Mich
ael Martin - IHCS mmartin_at_bournemouth.ac.uk
Both mobile technologies and games technologies
are increasingly seen as fertile ground for the
development of resources to support
learning. Savannah mobile gaming and learning -
K Facer, R Joiner, D Stanton, J Reid, R Hull, D
Kirk (2004) - Published in JCAL, Vol 20,
pp399-409
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Inter-professional education (IPE) for a
diversity of professions

• IHCS is developing collaborative learning
  opportunities for
• students preparing to be
• Nurses
• Midwives
• Occupational therapists
• Physiotherapists
• Operating department practitioners
• Social workers

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Rationale for inter-professional education for
IHCS Students

• To encourage collaborative learning between
  professional groups
• To develop effective team working within
  inter-professional scenarios
• To enhance communication between professional
  groups
• To help improve the quality of care delivery for
  service users and carers

4
Challenges

• Moving beyond shared teaching to collaborative
  learning
• Providing parity of learning experience for
  large student numbers (n600) unevenly spread
  between disciplines and across wide geographical
  area with students located in academic centres at
  Bournemouth, Yeovil and Portsmouth
• Supporting staff in adapting and changing
  learning teaching practices

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Blended Learning Solution

• Web based simulated community peopled by health
  social care users,
• living and working in a typical seaside community
  in a variety of urban and
• Rural settings. The e-learning components consist
  of
• Practice situated individuals as live and
  changing learning resources.
• Case scenarios developed by health social care
  practitioners service
• users for analysis and problem solving.
• Discussion boards and chat rooms for sharing and
  debating Inter-
• Professional perspectives on case scenarios, new
  episodes and client
• bulletin updates for engaging in role plays.
• Additional learning resources including
  professional codes of conduct,
• legislation, professional standard and policy
  documents.

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Project Timeline

• 2004 - 2005 Development / Testing
• June 04 - Iteration 1
• July 04 - Iteration 2
• September 04 - Iteration 3
• April 05 - Iteration 4
• August 05 - Iteration 5
• September 05 Wessex Bay Goes Live
• October 05 PAD Unit Begins
• January 06 Communication/PfPP Units Begin
• April/May 2006 Evaluation Begins

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Preparing Students for collaborative learning
with different professions

• The Personal Academic Development (PAD) unit
  provides students
• working in their uni-professional groups with a
  foundation in
• learning to learn
• e-learning IT skills
• information literacy study skills
• critical thinking reflecting on practice
• In preparation for working collaboratively in
  IPE groups through two Level
• C units running concurrently, in
• Preparation for professional practice
• Communication
• Delivery is by means of blended learning with
  face-to-face online
• learning activities supported by the Simulated
  Community (Wessex Bay)
• Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)

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Preparing and Supporting Staff

• Open Access Workshops
• Themed Workshops
• Designing a blended learning unit
• Encouraging active online learning
• Using e-quizzes in assessing learning
• VLE Basics
• Taster Days
• Demonstrating Sim Wessex Bay / VLE
• Engaging in asynchronous online discussion
• synchronous online role plays
• Targeted group sessions for IPE PAD teams
• 1 1 small group surgeries
• Online course areas discussion boards for
  staff training / collaboration

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Promoting and embedding developments in the
Schools Strategy

• Presentations to senior management on blended
  learning
• and Wessex Bay
• Establishment of steering groups for Wessex Bay
• and flexible learning for developers other
  interested staff
• In IHCS
• Integration with Research team (eg Centre for
  Qualitative
• Research)
• Promotion through IHCS 4U (eg town name)

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Evaluation Staff

• Healthy scepticism on the value of e-learning
  compared with
• face-to-face classroom based sessions
• Balancing the resource constraints of study
  hours available for
• uni-professional and inter-professional study
• Preparedness for blended learning
• Taking ownership of Wessex Bay VLE course
  areas
• Benefits challenges of working with learning
  from colleagues located
• in different professions
• But I have no idea how a midwife or social
  worker would interpret this
• case (staff comment shared in IPE Curriculum
  Planning Meeting)

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Evaluation Students

• The IPE curriculum commenced in September 2005
• Student data will be collected during this
  academic year by pre-experience questionnaires
  interim post experience focus groups
• Evaluation will assess findings against the
  intended outcomes of
• facilitating realistic student enquiry in a
  virtual practice community
• providing effective collaborative learning
  within a safe but challenging practice environment

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A Trip To Wessex Bay

• Enter Wessex Bay

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Future Within IHCS

• IHCS has been successful in a bid to the Health
  Science and Practice
• Subject Centre of the Higher Education Academy
  involving the Simulated
• Community. A full grant of 10,000 was awarded -
  project runs January
• 2006 through to December 2007.
• Further evaluation to take place.
• Rural area to become available for next academic
  year
• Revamp of navigation and layout of Wessex Bay
• Different simulations to be incorporated (eg
  Lifeworld Alzheimers project)
• Further use of Wessex Bay outside of IPE
  curriculum (eg Diabetes)

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Future Within BU

• Conservation Science - Brian James / Oil Spill
  Simulation Link Up / DCC
• Attending CAP SIG - Simulations
• Possible Disaster Management Centre Link Up
• SIM - Andrew Worth / Hotel Fire Simulation Link
  Up
• Collaborative Research Bids ? (Joint bid with
  NESTA to JISC unsuccessful)

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Future External To BU

• External UK Universities - HEA Bid
• DIPEx - Patient Experiences of health and
  illness
• Virtual Europe (COHEHRE)
• Project Bid submitted in 2005 (agreement for
  project to commence decision expected June
  2006)
• Article submitted to Journal of Allied Health
  March 2006
• Cases provided by Erasmushogechool, Belgium and
  Hogeschool van Amsterdam, Holland on prototype
  system Mid June 2006
• Project team meet up to discuss roles,
  responsibilities and project milestones Autumn
  2006