Much ado about the flu: Design and implementation of an e-role play for a large class of undergraduate students

doi:10.1016/j.nepr.2011.07.004

Nurse Education in Practice

Volume 12, Issue 2, March 2012, Pages 65-71

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2011.07.004 Get rights and content

Abstract

Role play in a face-to-face setting is becoming widely accepted as a useful pedagogy in nurse education. However, online e-role play i.e. role play which occurs using an electronic medium, is less well used, particularly with large classes. This paper will discuss the design and implementation of an online e-role play for a large class (n = 414) of undergraduate Nursing and Midwifery students. It describes the rationale for the use of this method and the expected learning outcomes followed by detail about how the e-role play was designed. It also discusses challenges faced in implementing this learning activity with a large group of students and then outlines student and staff evaluation of the e-role play. Finally lessons learned and implications for using this pedagogy in nurse education are considered.

Section snippets

Background

Nursing graduates require skills in collaboration, communication and reflection to enable them to work effectively with other health professionals and to deliver quality health care (Coeling and Cukr, 2000, Kalisch et al., 2007). However, the opportunities to develop these skills in the clinical setting maybe limited particularly when, there are large numbers of students, an off campus cohort and limited clinical placement opportunities (Barnett et al., 2008). The use of e-role play as one

The design

The specific challenges in context for this e-role play were that the learning activity needed to cater for on campus (face-to-face) and off campus (distance) students, third year midwifery, and first year nursing students. Additionally we had a large teaching team of 13 faculty members some with as few as 25 students (one tutorial group) others with as many as 75 (in three tutorial groups).

The e-role play aimed to provide an experiential learning activity for this diverse range of students

Survey results

143 students responded (response rate = 34%). Responses to the student survey are given in Fig. 3 and Table 1 and will be further discussed here. Staff survey results will follow.

Discussion

This e-role play experience for large classes of students has proved challenging for the project team as well as for faculty and students. As a consequence, the lessons learnt from this experience will inform changes to future offerings of the e-role play.

We anticipated that 10 days would allow students time to think and reflect, as well as promote deep engagement, develop communication and team work skills. Judging from the generally positive response from both students and faculty about

Conclusions

The development and implementation of the e-role play for a large cohort of students posed significant challenges for both students and faculty. The challenges related to, designing a tool that would cater for a diverse range of students, choosing a Learning Management System (Moodle) where postings would remain anonymous and aligning the content and focus of the e-role play with the course learning objectives.

From the students’ perspective, the e-role play facilitated the development of

Acknowledgements

This project was funded by an UniSA Division of Health Sciences Teaching and Learning grant. We acknowledge the assistance, of Ann Davenport (private consultant) and Dale Wache (UniSA) for their expert assistance during the design phase of the project. We also thank Alison Hall (Coordinator of Online Communities | EdNA) for her assistance in setting up and running the e-sim. We would also like to thank all students who evaluated the e-sim, as well as faculty teaching in the course.

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Nursing informatics in undergraduate nursing education in Australia before COVID-19: A scoping review
2022, Collegian
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In one study (Warland et al., 2012), teachers used e-role play to motivate students to participate in online activities. This type of assessment allowed students to collaborate on learning tasks (Warland et al., 2012). Meedya et al. (2019) used digital formative assessment tasks in a science subject where students had to develop digital media, such as podcast video, digital story or blended media.
Technology can support transformational outcomes of high quality and evidenced-based care and education. Embedding nursing informatics into the undergraduate nursing curriculum enhances nursing students’ digital health literacy, whilst preparing them to use health information systems and technological innovations to support their learning both at university and in the clinical environment.
This scoping review aimed to provide an overview of the published literature on how nursing informatics was embedded and integrated into the undergraduate nursing curriculum in Australia before coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
A scoping review approach guided this study using the Levac, Colquhoun, and O'Brien framework, and the following databases were searched: CINAHL Plus, EMCARE, MEDLINE Ovid, Scopus, ERIC ProQuest, and Web of Science. A total of 26 articles were included: Five quantitative studies, eight qualitative studies and 13 mixed-methods studies.
Few studies focused on the concept of nursing informatics itself, and only two studies described the process of developing curricula that contain nursing informatics competencies and their implementation: the educational scaffolding and modular development approach and a Community of Inquiry Framework (COI). Most studies centred on nursing informatics tools to facilitate teaching and learning in classrooms and skills laboratories. The reported pedagogical strategies were online learning, blended learning, and technology-enabled simulations. Hindrances to nursing informatics being integrated into undergraduate curricula were disparities of the informatics content, a lack of guidelines and/or frameworks, and poor digital literacy.
This study provided a baseline perspective of how nursing informatics was embedded and integrated into nursing education in Australia before COVID-19. Overwhelmingly, the focus of research to date was found to be mainly on the utilisation of technological tools to support learning and teaching.
Online learning and teaching approaches used in midwifery programs: A scoping review
2021, Nurse Education Today
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The use of virtual reality platforms also provides opportunity for rural and remote students to complete midwifery education online. Five studies reported the use of virtual online roleplay as a learning and teaching approach (Baghdari et al., 2017; Scamell and Hanley, 2017; Smith et al., 2012; Warland and Smith, 2012; Warland et al., 2012). Virtual roleplay has been used to develop the skills of delivering bad news (Baghdari et al., 2017), and scrutinize personal preconceived ideas and prejudices (Scamell and Hanley, 2017).
The objective of this scoping review was to map and identify existing literature that described online learning and teaching approaches used in midwifery education.
An extensive search of multiple databases and gray literature was undertaken following the JBI standards, using predefined selection criteria and following the PRISMA guidelines.
This scoping review included studies published in English between 2010 and 2020 that explored the online approaches to learning and teaching for undergraduate midwifery students. The articles were reviewed by three reviewers and content analysis was undertaken.
Twenty-seven articles were included in the review. Results suggest that student engagement is one of the main components of effective teaching in online midwifery education. Online learning resources need to engage the student and promote two-way communication that facilitates and motivates learning.
Adequate training and support for academic staff and students is essential for the online delivery of midwifery education.
Communication: Preparing undergraduate radiation therapy students for initial clinical patient interactions
2019, Radiography
Radiation therapy students need to demonstrate appropriate communication skills when entering the clinical environment. To assist students with preparation for their first clinical placement a clinical reasoning module comprising theory and practical sessions was developed. This paper describes the module and presents the results of student evaluations.
The module consisted of lectures, observational role-play and participatory role-play. Students were ultimately tasked with providing information to a simulated patient (SP). Each student received feedback independently from the SP, peers and facilitator. At the conclusion of the module, students had the opportunity to provide feedback via an anonymous survey (8 Likert scale questions with space for written comment). Data was analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively.
Four hundred and thirty seven students were enrolled in the course between 2008 and 2016 and the response rate of the survey was 93%. Even though most students reported some level of anxiety before and during the role-play sessions, the majority of students perceived all aspects of the module to be extremely/very useful. The most useful aspect of the module (Likert scale assessment) was the feedback provided by the SP. The two most important themes arising from the thematic analysis were gaining an understanding of the role of the radiation therapist and the complexities of patient interactions.
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Nursing is a practice-based profession, and nurse education requires authentic learning. Simulation is valuable to assist the preparation of graduates to enter the workforce, but there is limited understanding of the breadth and quality of simulation as a pedagogy in the Australian nursing context. A framework of best practice in simulation was synthesized from previously published best practice guidelines and then applied to Australian simulation education described in studies included in this scoping review. Included literature (n = 44 articles) maps the extent, range, and nature of evidence around the use and evaluation of simulation in undergraduate nurse education in Australia. Inconsistency in the methods used to evaluate simulation activities creates challenges in pooling results to provide definitive answers about the benefits of simulation in undergraduate nurse education. Improved clarity and rigor in evaluation is needed to guide the appropriate use of simulation in the undergraduate nursing curricula.
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The frequency of natural and manmade disasters along with increasing potential for public health emergencies emphasizes the need for emergency preparedness education. Because nurses are the largest group of health professionals to meet the needs of those affected by disasters and public health emergencies, schools of nursing need to prepare graduates who are knowledgeable about disaster and public health emergency management. The use of core competencies may be a means to ensure consistent application of best practices in disaster health care. The next step in competency development involves validation through evidence. Through documentation and dissemination of their experiences with emergency preparedness education, schools of nursing can provide supportive evidence to aid in competency development. The purpose of this paper is present a case study of an ongoing and evolving public health nursing education project consistent with disaster health care and emergency preparedness competencies.
Midwives' and doctors' perceptions of their preparation for and practice in managing the perineum in the second stage of labour: A cross-sectional survey
2015, Midwifery
Citation Excerpt :
The midwives were then formally assessed by Objective Structured Clinical Examination. Role play has been accepted as an effective pedagogy in face-to-face nursing education (Warland et al., 2012). However, with advances in online technologies, the emergence of e-role play in education is also gaining popularity.
to identify the perceptions of midwives and doctors at Monash Women׳s regarding their educational preparation and practices used for perineal management during the second stage of labour.
anonymous cross-sectional semi-structured questionnaire (‘The survey’).
the three maternity hospitals that form Monash Women׳s Maternity Services, Monash Health, Victoria, Australia.
midwives and doctors attending births at one or more of the three Monash Women׳s maternity hospitals.
a semi-structured questionnaire was developed, drawing on key concepts from experts and peer-reviewed literature.
surveys were returned by 17 doctors and 69 midwives (37% response rate, from the 230 surveys sent). Midwives and doctors described a number of techniques they would use to reduce the risk of perineal trauma, for example, hands on the fetal head/perineum (11.8% of doctors, 61% of midwives), the use of warm compresses (45% of midwives) and maternal education and guidance with pushing (49.3% of midwives). When presented with a series of specific obstetric situations, respondents indicated that they would variably practice hands on the perineum during second stage labour, hands off and episiotomy. The majority of respondents indicated that they agreed or strongly agreed that an episiotomy should sometimes be performed (midwives 97%, doctors 100%).
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Midwives and doctors indicated that they would use the hands on or hands off approach or episiotomy depending on the specific clinical scenario and described a range of techniques that they would use in their overall approach to minimising perineal trauma during birth. Midwives were more likely than doctors to indicate their lack of training and/or confidence in conducting perineal repair and diagnosing ASI.
many midwives indicated that they had not received training in diagnosing ASI, perineal repair and midwives׳ and doctor׳s knowledge of the prevalence of perineal outcomes was poor. Given the importance of these skills to women cared for by midwives and doctors, the findings may be used to inform the development of quality improvement activities, including training programs and opportunities for gaining experience and expertise with perineal management. The use of episiotomy and hands on/hands off the perineum in the survey scenarios provides reassurance that doctors and midwives take a number of factors into account in their clinical practice, rather than a preference for one or more interventions over others.

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Much ado about the flu: Design and implementation of an e-role play for a large class of undergraduate students

Abstract

Section snippets

Background

The design

Survey results

Discussion

Conclusions

Acknowledgements

Collegian

Clinical Simulation in Nursing

Nurse Education in Practice

Australasian Survey of Student Engagement

Why Use Role-Play?

A concept analysis of simulation as a learning strategy in the education of undergraduate nursing students

Nurse Education Today

Adapting a face-to-face role-play simulation for online play

Educational Technology Research and Development

Simulation-based learning in nurse education: systematic review

Journal of Advanced Nursing

Communication styles that promote perceptions of collaboration, quality, and nurse Satisfaction

Journal of Nursing Care Quality

‘Unfettered expression of thought’? Experiences of anonymous online role play