Abstract
Dementia impairs decision-making, presenting challenges for nursing and social work students caring for affected individuals. Students must balance patients’ autonomy with ensuring their safety and well-being. Virtual simulation (VS) holds promise for enhancing students’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes towards people with dementia. The purpose of this study is to showcase the development and implementation of a VS designed to enhance interprofessional education in dementia care. A team of interprofessional scholars convened for a four-day CAN-Sim workshop at Thompson Rivers University (TRU) to develop a VS to bolster interprofessional decision-making skills among nursing and social work students. The process began with a visioning meeting and the formulation of learning objectives. During the workshop, we crafted and refined the scenario, engaged in script writing, and mapped decision points to foster creative thinking among students managing patients with dementia. The simulation was filmed using a Go-Pro, assembled in Articulate Storyline, and underwent a comprehensive review. The final VS, titled “Interprofessional Collaboration: Dementia, Delirium, and Decision Making,” was introduced to nursing and social work students in Fall 2024. The innovative VS addressed a gap identified by TRU scholars and will be available for open access for future students. Integrating VS into TRU courses demonstrates its potential to bridge gaps in dementia education and foster interprofessional collaboration. This VS enables theory application to real-world scenarios, allowing students to engage with complex cases in a controlled environment. It helps explore decision-making, ethical dilemmas, and interprofessional communication strategies, thereby improving the capacity to make informed decisions.
Presenters
Anila ViraniAssistant Professor, Nursing, Thompson Rivers University, British Columbia, Canada Devon Graham
Wendy Hulko
Professor, Social Work, Thompson Rivers University, British Columbia, Canada
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Considering Digital Pedagogies
KEYWORDS
VIRTUAL SIMULATION, INTERPROFESSIONAL COLLABORATION, INFORMED DECISION MAKING, DEMENTIA
