Contents
Presenters
Ms Tripti Chakraborty – Deputy Course Director and Placements module lead, Department of Medicine
Talk
We have designed a teaching and simulation element to the placements module to address placement shortages. All sessions have been designed by experienced clinicians to combine simulation and interactive workshops to enhance engagement, build confidence and provide meaningful learning experiences to complement their traditional placement learning.
Access to quality clinical placements remains a significant and resource-intensive challenge, worsened by increasing student numbers across healthcare programmes. To address this, the MSc in Physician Associate Studies has developed an interactive clinical simulation curriculum to complement primary care placements for first-year PA students. This innovative approach alternates weekly between primary care placements and immersive simulation sessions at the university, often involving live standardised patients.
The curriculum consists of 12 simulation days, carefully designed to meet regulatory requirements and replicate skills typically developed during placements. Sessions include primary care simulated clinics, frailty history-taking and examination with actors, wound management with real patients, and palliative care scenarios. Although designed for PA students, these sessions offer transferable insights for medical and allied health programmes. For instance, incorporating a triage system into simulated same-day clinics could benefit medical students by fostering interprofessional learning involving PAs, nurses, paramedics, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals.
This model prioritises maximising clinical exposure to ensure students are adequately prepared for practice. Structured actor-based simulations have proven effective in building skills, increasing confidence, and providing direct feedback on clinical examination techniques. By utilising funding from the education contract, the programme has maintained the regular use of simulated patients and experienced facilitators.
We will share the design, delivery, and initial outcomes of this curriculum, demonstrating its adaptability to other healthcare programmes. Collaboration is welcomed to explore further opportunities for interprofessional education and shared solutions to placement challenges.
This lightning talk will provide an introduction to our primary care education sessions, outlining their purpose, structure, and impact. We will begin by introducing the concept behind these sessions, explaining the rationale for their development and the need they address within primary care education. We will then discuss how we have blueprinted each session, ensuring they are structured effectively to meet learning objectives while aligning with national educational standards. A key focus of the talk will be on student engagement and participation. We will explore the innovative teaching methods used, such as simulation-based learning, interactive workshops, and case-based discussions, which have been carefully designed to create an immersive learning environment. We will also highlight the strategies implemented to encourage active participation, ensuring students remain engaged and gain maximum benefit from each session. As we conclude, we will reflect on our key learnings from implementing these sessions, including challenges faced and how we have adapted our approach based on student and faculty feedback. Finally, we will share our vision for the future, discussing how these sessions may evolve and contribute to enhancing primary care training in the long term. Questions we anticipate are:
- How do you ensure alignment with national standards or curricula?
- What specific strategies have you used to maintain student engagement?
- How do you accommodate different learning styles in your sessions?
- Have you used any technology of digital tools to enhance participation?
- How do you manage students who are less likely to participate?
- Have you noticed any changes in students’ confidence or competence?
- Have there been any unexpected benefits or challenges from this approach?
- How will you measure the impact from these sessions?
References
Shiels, S., Keenan, I.D., Goldsmith, M., Mitchelmore, A., Stubbs, B. and Alexander, L. (2022) ‘Simulated placements as partial replacement of clinical training time: A Delphi consensus study’, Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 65, pp. 1–9. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876139922000391 (Accessed: 5th Jan 2025)
Dairo, Y.M., Hunter, K. and Ishaku, T. (2024) ‘The impact of simulation-based learning on the knowledge, attitude and performance of physiotherapy students on practice placement’, BMC Medical Education, 24, p. 786. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05718-2 (Accessed: 4th Feb 2025)
Higgie, E., Parker, H. and Zucca, N. (Year) ‘PA-rticipating in simulation: Developing a novel teaching programme mapped to the physician associate curriculum, using simulation and interactive workshops to cover core conditions and non-technical skills’, Clinical Advisor, 3(1), pp. A55–A56. Available at: https://doi.org/10.54531/PESJ4909 (Accessed: 4th Feb 2025)
General Medical Council (GMC) (Year) Guidance on undergraduate clinical placements. Available at: https://www.gmc-uk.org/education/standards-guidance-and-curricula/guidance/undergraduate-clinical-placements/guidance-on-undergraduate-clinical-placements (Accessed: 1 April 2025)
