The James Paget’s Simulation Faculty has been highlighted as an example of good practice in a new national toolkit put together by Health Education England.
Health simulation training is where medical and nursing students use a range of technology, including equipment such as realistic human dummies, to simulate real-life medical emergencies in safe and controlled surroundings.
The ‘National toolkit to support the use of simulation in health and care’ aims to provide advice and resources for faculty development and it highlights the James Paget’s Simulation team as one of three key case studies.
In 2018 Health Education England Technology Enhanced Learning published a national framework which states that an effective and credible simulation faculty should be multi-professional and be able to offer consistently high quality education to learners from diferent health and care professions, specialties and disciplines, and support inter-professional learning.
The James Paget is used as an exemplar as, in 2017, the Trust launched a plan to increase the use of an existing simulation facility by developing an interprofessional faculty. Today the faculty provides a safe environment where medical and nursing professionals can manage specific simulated emergencies and benefit from valuable learning opportunities.
Dr Emily Russell, a consultant in Acute Medicine, who is one of those leading the faculty at the James Paget, and who has been a key advisor on HEE’s national faculty Development Strategy, said; “The success of our faculty development programme has resulted in new learning approaches being used to support lecture-based teaching – for example in blood transfusion training – and we are currently looking to expand our faculty offer for GP and paramedic training.
“We also developed three short courses for anyone interested in teaching to develop their skills too.
“Covid-19 has meant that we have had to re-design course delivery but our facility has been put to great use to help prepare staff for changes to clinical practice arising from the pandemic.”
The technology within the facility helps provide evidence based feedback to those taking the courses, improving practical skills as well as providing experience in dealing with a range of medical emergencies and associated procedures.
