Student nurses and radiographers unite for Simulated Practice Learning

Over 100 Brighton students studying adult nursing and diagnostic radiography came together for the morning for three hours of simulated practice learning.

Interprofessional learning opportunities in a safe environment at university ensure our students are fully prepared for their career as a health professional where they will work as part of a multidisciplinary team.

The morning was part of the students’ final year ‘practice learning’ module which includes time out in practice in healthcare settings.

One simulation ran in the lecture theatre which was about supporting a patient for portable chest x-ray on a medical ward – the focus was on leadership management and teamwork. It ran as a forum theatre approach where the student audience could stop the scenario after the first run through to make changes to an identified staff member about professional values.

Another simulation took place in the radiography suite, and it was live streamed into the lecture theatre so the students could observe. Two radiography students and one nursing student volunteered to take part in this simulation which had a focus on supporting a patient from a high dependency unit (HDU) for X -Ray. The scenario depicted a deterioration in the patient’s condition and the radiographers and nurses worked together to support them.

Throughout the session students were joined by a range of academic staff including podiatry senior lecturer Rachel Forss who ran a session on Charcot arthropathy – a condition that affects the bones, joints, and soft tissues of the foot and ankle. Only five attendees had heard of the condition which demonstrates the importance of these types of activities in building knowledge.

We were also delighted to be joined by Louise Salter an A&E staff nurse. Louise is a University of Brighton nursing graduate and said that she ‘really enjoyed being back at Brighton and would love to be involved again in the future’.

Learning outcomes for the students included:

• understanding their roles and responsibilities within a multidisciplinary team in ward and radiography department settings.
• developing effective communication strategies for collaborative patient care, addressing potential barriers
• applying teamwork principles to case-based scenarios
• reflecting on personal and professional attitudes when working with other healthcare professionals

Jamie Cooper, Senior Lecturer in Nursing and Simulation Lead for the School of Education, Sport and Health Sciences said: “This was the first time we brought together nursing and radiography in a joint simulation practice learning session.

“In their careers they will work alongside many different health professions so interprofessional learning is crucial.

“I was really pleased how the session went. Whilst we try to have small groups for interprofessional simulation, timetabling clashes and student placement scheduling does not always allow for this.

“Bringing simulation into the lecture theatre, where we used forum theatre and fishbowl approach, allowed engagement within the whole lecture theatre. It was also great to be able to have a camera in the radiography suite for one of our simulations which was live streamed into the lecture theatre.”

Comments from students included:

“It is really helpful seeing how we don’t work in isolation as clinicians and how what we do impacts on other multidisciplinary teams doing their job.”

“It was great seeing registered professionals respond to difficult situations as opposed to students that often feel out of depth and unsure what to do.”

“Very good informative session providing insight into the multidisciplinary team.!

“Enjoyed all of the different elements from subjects we don’t usually hear about.”

Radiography Lecturer Huda Ali said: “As a new member of staff, I was truly impressed by Brighton’s innovative approach to teaching.

“These types of scenarios encourage students to carefully consider their approach to patient care and emphasised the value of effective interprofessional collaboration. It was inspiring to witness the strong engagement with staff members from a wide variety of professional backgrounds.”

Learn how you can train to be a health professional at the University of Brighton.