Baycrest Health Sciences & Baycrest Foundation Publications
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Annual Education Report 2014-2015 June 2015 Page 23 of 30 Innovative Educational Curriculum Developing a Geriatric Simulation Program Simulation is an educational methodology to assist in achieving educational goals and to ultimately improve the safety, effectiveness and efficiency of healthcare services. As a technique for learning and practicing, simulation replaces and amplifies real experiences with guided ones. Simulation often replicates aspects of the real world in a fully interactive fashion and can incorporate a variety of modalities such as standardized actors. Simulation is widely used in post-secondary education and in acute care settings; however, it is relatively new to geriatrics and the long-term care sector. It is a form of experiential learning that is especially beneficial to experienced leaners and fosters interprofessional learning – a key priority at Baycrest – by enhancing staff knowledge, attitudes and behaviours related to key team competencies such as communication, collaboration, values and ethics. Baycrest has been engaged in a unique, volunteer-based and geriatric-focused simulation pilot project entitled: SAGE – Standardized Acting for Gerontological Education, led by the Centre for Education, in collaboration with Volunteer Services and the Baycrest Centre for Learning, Research and Innovation. A standardized actor is an individual trained to portray a real patient, family or staff member. Standardized actors provide educators and learners with opportunities to learn, assess and refine a variety of skills, including communication, interview, diagnostic, and clinical skills. Standardized actors perform their role within the framework of a learning scenario designed by educators to meet specific curriculum objectives. The SAGE program will support a wide variety of educational and orientation programs to promote care that is responsive to the social, cultural and health system contexts within which gerontological care is delivered to clients and families. One of the challenges in Ontario is that very few standardized acting programs exist, and among these, geriatric actors are scarce. Developing a pool of well-trained, geriatric standardized actors will greatly enhance Baycrest's educational capacity and position Baycrest as a leader in the field. Through an endowment from the Rodda Family, the Centre for Education has been able to begin development of an innovative geriatric simulation program at Baycrest. In 2013/14, Baycrest consulted with SIM-one, Ontario's Simulation Network, to provide direction on simulation delivery, facility innovations and space planning solutions to meet our organizational learning needs. We have now secured a location on the 5 th floor of the BHC and are resourcing it as a simulation area - a physical space where simulation activities are employed for health professions' training that includes technical skills training (manikins, task trainers), role playing, virtual reality/e-learning and blended simulation. It is anticipated that training programs developed will include innovative components of simulation and e-learning and the state-of-the-art training space will be designed to become a "hub" to enable Baycrest to host external customers. Additionally, Dr. Bruce Ballon has been hired part time to advise and assist in the development and training of simulation. More recently, we will be adding a part time Standardized Patient (SP) expert to assist in growing and developing the SAGE program.