College of Medicine – Tucson’s Kate Hughes advances simulation education
Bringing real-world scenarios to life boosts students’ engagement and confidence.
As part of the Transition to Residency course, U of A medical students brush up on assorted skills, such as using laparoscopic tools, before they head off to clinical training.
Photo by Noelle Haro-Gomez, U of A Health Sciences Office of Communications
Kate Hughes, DO, was in her first month as an emergency medicine resident when things went sideways. In the middle of taking her patient’s history, the woman started seizing. Image
Kate Hughes, DO, has felt passionate about simulated education since she was a resident and has worked to make hands-on learning a core part of the U of A College of Medicine – Tucson’s training. Photo by Noelle Haro-Gomez, U of A Health Sciences Office of Communications It wasn’t real — the patient was only mimicking the symptoms of postpartum preeclampsia — but it felt very real to Hughes, the director of simulation education at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson. “It was stressful,” said Hughes, who vividly recalled the experience even though it happened 13 years ago. It was also powerful. To this day, Hughes remembers the diagnosis and course of treatment, which is why simulation education is so critical. Bringing curriculum to lifeHughes, who became the inaugural simulation education director three years ago, has been passionate about experiential learning since that initial foray in 2013. Using immersive, artificial scenarios — whether they involve high-tech gadgetry or actual humans pretending to be sick — is a sure-fire way to develop students who feel well-prepared by the time they’re seeing real patients. After all, practice makes perfect. “You can get a lot of reps in and become much more comfortable and confident at patient care before you even get to the bedside,” Hughes said. “It’s less stressful than real patient care because it’s a psychologically safe space, so you can just learn and improve. You’re there to make mistakes. You’re there to learn from those mistakes. So, when you’re taking care of a real patient, you have a solid cognitive process as you approach a problem.” Image
One of the benefits to simulated education is giving students the opportunity to practice their skills and gain confidence before seeing real patients. Photo by Noelle Haro-Gomez, U of A Health Sciences Office of Communications That’s why Hughes has collaborated with medical school faculty members to make simulation education a core part of medical student training in the preclinical phase. “One of the big benefits of sim is bringing things to life,” she said. A boom in simulation educationOn a recent afternoon, clusters of students were sprawled throughout the Arizona Simulation Technology and Education Center. As part of the Transition to Residency course, one group brushed up on different types of surgical instruments, while others practiced suturing floppy squares of simulated skin with various wounds. At another station, a handful of students used laparoscopic tools to move plastic geometric pieces to different wooden pegs. Each of the 30-minute stations was designed to be a refresher for the fourth-year medical students before residency. It was just one of the many ways U of A College of Medicine – Tucson students experience simulation education, which ranges from an introduction to such learning based on an escape room, where first-years learn the ins and outs of interacting with the manikins, to more intensive experiences like a simulated night on call. When Hughes arrived at the U of A in 2017 for a medical simulation fellowship, ASTEC was a “small but mighty” program tucked into the College of Medicine – Tucson. “We did a lot of sim in a tighter space,” Hughes said. Moving to the Health Sciences Innovation Building — with two floors, reconfigurable rooms and an expansive area reminiscent of a Hollywood sound stage — seven years ago expanded the simulation opportunities available to students. In 2018, students logged 720 hours’ worth of sim activities in ASTEC. These days, it’s jumped to 3,000-plus hours. Image
John Heyl, in gown, is a standardized patient who helps train U of A health sciences students by simulating medical issues that give students the chance to practice assessment and bedside skills. Photo by Noelle Haro-Gomez, U of A Health Sciences Office of Communications Continuing to growThe funny thing is, Hughes herself had pretty minimal simulation experience as a resident at Sparrow Hospital in Michigan. Because the hospital didn’t have a sim lab, residents had to travel to neighboring programs, which meant more limited opportunities. But Hughes felt so strongly about the importance of an on-site simulation program that she submitted a grant to build one. The project got funded and was completed after Hughes graduated. She did have the opportunity to visit the simulation space she kickstarted. “That was really fun,” Hughes said. “Residents do a lot of sim in there every single month. The faculty who are facilitating their cases have had extra training in simulation and debriefing. It’s just kind of sparked a lot of positive curricular programming, and all kinds of residents in the hospital use the space. That is the vision that we had, that it can be multidisciplinary.” Hughes said she expects the U of A program to continue to grow and expand, too. Faculty members have eagerly increased simulation opportunities in their courses, and, more importantly, students keep asking for additional training. “I think that’s the biggest compliment you could ever have,” Hughes said. “They want to do more, not less.”
|