Improving the communication skills of medical students --A survey of simulated patient-based learning in Chinese medical universities.

BACKGROUND: It is useful to advance simulated patient (SP) participation in teaching to improve the communication skills of medical students, so this study aims to explore the current state of Chinese mainland SP education. METHODS: A cross sectional survey was designed utilizing well defined quantitative research methods and descriptive statistics. The questionnaire sought information which elucidated the current status of SP-based education, the origin of SP-based learning, SP training, challenges of this learning strategy and future developments. Questionnaires were distributed to 79 medical colleges in mainland China, and 68 were returned. Of these, 64 constituted valid responses (81%). RESULTS: The number of SP-based education activities in medical colleges offering 5-year、7-year and 8-year clinical medicine programs was significantly higher than that in medical colleges which offered only a single 5-year program (p < 0.01). Communication skills training accounted for 73% of the content of SP-based learning activities, and was expected to rise in the future to 90%, in response to a need to improve doctor-patient relationships. Persons recruited as 'simulated patients' included students (21% of the total), residents (49%), medical staff (15%) and teaching staff (14%). Colleges, planning a SP-based education program, preferred teachers (80%) and students (55%) to assume 'simulated patient' roles. In objective structured clinical education (OSCE) scenarios, co-scoring by both SPs and teachers featured more highly in the 'consultation' station and 'doctor-patient communication' station. A number of factors were identified as hindering future development and implementation of SP-based learning including budget restraints, SP selection and training. CONCLUSIONS: SP-based learning programs offer clear benefits for improving the clinical education of medical students and their communication skills. The main obstacles to achieving more widespread and higher quality SP-based education are insufficient funding and the lack of standardized training and performance evaluation processes for simulated patients. Medical colleges should consider reducing the proportion of students and teachers acting as SPs, and attract more citizens to participate in SP-based learning activities. Formalised training and evaluation of SPs performance are necessary to establish a 'standard simulated patient' for a particular medical discipline, thus improving SP-based activities and student learning.

Development and Evaluation of a Web-Based System to Learn Skills for Removing Personal Protective Equipment for Highly Infectious Diseases.

We developed a web-based learning system for healthcare workers to learn the skills for removing personal protective equipment for highly infectious diseases. The system was implemented on a trial basis and healthcare workers evaluated its usability and their motivation to learn. Usability was similar to that of typical systems. Motivation scores were high, indicating confidence and satisfaction with the system.

Development of a Tool for Hospital Nurses' Fatigue Self-Management That Can Be Used for Organizational Management.

The purpose of this research is to develop a tool for fatigue self-management for hospital nurses. It is based on a nursing fatigue management education program that we have developed by utilizing the airline industry's Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS). More specifically, this research aims to develop a tool to check fatigue and sleep conditions, deepen the knowledge about fatigue management, devise a measure to avoid the risk of fatigue, and continuously conduct evaluation.

Design of a Program to Learn the Nursing Process by Introducing Digital Stories - For the Promotion of Patient Understanding.

Nursing students have a problem to develop real images of patients by using paper patient-based learning as the initial program to learn the process of nursing care. This paper presents a learning program for the promotion of patient understanding, designed by focusing on digital stories and workshops held in classes.

Proposal of Comprehensive Model of Teaching Basic Nursing Skills Under Goal-Based Scenario Theory.

The purpose of this study is to design and develop a comprehensive model of teaching basic nursing skills on GBS theory and Four-Stage Performance Cycle. We designed a basic nursing skill program that consists of three courses: basic, application and multi-tasking. The program will be offered as blended study, utilizing e-learning.

A web-based training system for elevating nursing students' risk sensitivity.

On-site training through role plays and the use of audio-visual resources has been effective to enhance nurses' capacity to foresee potential risks. Nevertheless, reports on accidents by nursing students or novice nurses continue to exist. This paper proposes a web-based training system as a new teaching strategy for elevating nursing students'risk sensitivity. It introduces two case studies involving possible falling risks. It consists of simulation based on these case studies and diagnostic tests. It is suggested this system should be used to examine nurses' capability of avoiding risks.

Development of a communication skills training support system for the nurse.

The content, methods, and evaluation of extant training programs in nursing communication skills fall short in terms of objectivity, from which feelings of achievement are difficult to attain. As such, an attempt was made to develop training materials from a more practical, logical, and comprehensive standpoint in line with the instructional design process. The study objects were students of nursing colleges. Efficacy of the program was demonstrated through evaluating implementation of the computer-aided instruction program constructed in the form of a diagnostic program created with egograms as the evaluation index. The findings suggested functionality of the program as a training support system through addition of a remedial program that restructures the tutorial to allow for fortification of the virtual learning experience through promoting further self-reflection.

Scope of a nursing diagnostic list for fulfilling basic human needs in home-visit nursing.

Inscriptions on 291 nursing diagnosis items regarding 100 home convalescents were subjected to analysis. The 291-item nursing diagnosis was found to be consistent with a previously reported nursing diagnosis developed by the authors from Henderson's 14 items covering basic nursing practice. Additionally, the analysis indicated a need for nursing diagnosis items for family members, as caregivers for the patients recuperating at home.