Open AccessDeveloping an Acute Care Simulation Lab and Practicum
Author(s) -
Erin Clark,
Lori E. Lombard
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
teaching and learning in communication sciences and disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2689-6443
DOI - 10.30707/tlcsd4.3/fxap4522
Subject(s) - practicum , computer science , acute care , medical education , curriculum , best practice , task (project management) , speech language pathology , health care , medicine , psychology , pedagogy , engineering , physical therapy , management , systems engineering , economics , economic growth
The benefits of simulation-based education have been well-documented in health-related disciplines and are emerging in speech-language pathology. Several clinical training paradigms for acute care speech-language pathology skills have been successful when implemented in high fidelity, nursing simulation labs with price tags that are cost prohibitive for most speech-language pathology programs. Through funding support from a grant and a four-phased simulation development program, the authors developed an acute care simulation lab dedicated to speech-language pathology students for under $9,000 and simultaneously piloted a one-credit, acute care, adult- and geriatric-focused clinical practicum course. The clinical practicum was structured to scaffold student learning using task trainers, computer-based simulations, and live simulations with low fidelity manikins and standardized patients. The authors are hopeful that this article provides speech-language pathology programs a practical framework for structuring a dedicated, simulation space and course, while empowering faculty to more fully integrate simulation-based learning experiences into their curricula in a way that is evidence-based and in keeping with the best practice resources that are currently available in the field of speech-language pathology.