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Valerie Ness, Dr. Jacqueline McCallum, Theresa Price, Andy WhitefordSchool of Nursing, Midwifery & Community Health September 2009

The student nurse’s experience of using a virtual

learning environment (Second Life) to receive

simulation education

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The ResultsThe team and avatars

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Need to teach decision-making skills in nursingClinical simulation laboratory stretched to capacityGlasgow Caledonian University bought an island on Second LifeDedicated support team for Second Life

Background

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Research Questions1.To progress students beyond using Second Life for social networking and explore their experience of this learning environment.2. To explore the use of Second Life to develop Non-Technical skills in nursing such as decision-making.3. To achieve learning outcomes that are meaningful, challenging and easily replicated within the environment of Second Life.4. To identify principles of governance that would make it feasible to use the environment of Second Life within formal educational programmes in nursing.

The Study

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gy Caledonian University Saltire Centre

created on Second Life university island

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gy Inside the Saltire centre

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The real CSL - add photo from my desktop at work

The real clinical simulation laboratory

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Second Life

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Action ResearchEthical approval gained from School ethics committeeAccess granted from the Dean, programme leader and module leader350 students invited to participate12 replied and were given information sheet6 consented to the study and attended training5 completed the study (1 withdrew)3 attended the focus group

Methodology

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Qualitative Data analysis exploring student’s viewsFocus group interviews approx 2 months after the simulation at the end of their clinical placementTranscribed by one researcherAnalysed using Dieklemann finding themes

Methodology

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gy The patients

May

Colin

Willie

Laura

AnnePrecilla

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Themes that emerged:1. The importance of previous experience of

gaming and/or decision-making2. The importance of realism and

communication3. The use of Second Life as a tool to

involve other students and qualified staff4. The importance of feedback 5. The introduction of decision-making and

Second Life as a concept earlier on in the programme.

The Results

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Dependent on previous experience of gaming and decision-making

Accessibility (via VLE) would allow student to practice with Second Life

Use other clinical areas (e.g. theatre recovery) - experience areas they haven’t been to or need practice in.

Introducing it earlier in the programme Have training based on a needs

assessment

The Results: 1. Previous experience

“If you find out who’s actually gotexperience of using that kind oftechnology and then like say suit training to people’s needs”

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The Results: 2. Realism and communication

“It was actually quite like the ward I was on so it prepared me a lot.”

“You’ve got so much running through your mind at that point about what you need to do and delegate, you just don’t think “it’s just the lecturers playing with me in the other room”, so you just get on with it as if it was a real scenario.”

“I think there was an aspect of it that was so unreal that I couldn’t take it seriously… I felt there was someone else controlling you…an element of Big Brother about it”

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Headsets/microphones

The Results: Realism (cont)

“on a ward you’re using different sensesand I felt that couldn’t be encompassed in the virtual reality of it”

“there’s all the non-verbal communication that you can’t encompass in that kind of thing….just holding someone’s hand…”

“it would cut down on the biz on screen….and I think it would definitely have benefited from using sound cause these are the senses that you use. You can be doing one thing but you are actually listening”.

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More students at the same time to allow discussion or using experienced students as patients

Other staff (MDT) on screen Using qualified staff as patients/staff

The Results: 3. Role of other students/qualified

staff

“yeah I think there has to be scope to include it so that it’s beneficial to both sides as a teaching and a learning experience”

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Feedback – written and verbal

The Results: 4. Feedback

“ yeah I think it helped a lot with confidence of just knowing that I’m making the right decisions but maybe that came after when we were discussing it again”.

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Difficult to recount previous experience (prior to their management placement)

More visible in one-to-one situations e.g. theatre recovery

Would like it introduced earlier in programme

The Results: 5. Decision-making

“we don’t just make decisions in third year and wedon’t just make them under stress and I think maybe we need to be introduced to the idea earlier on and know that you’re actually doing it, you might not realise you’re doing it….building confidence in decision-making could maybe start earlier on….”

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Conclusions? Advantages - safe, easy to use, prepared

them, practical and some found if realistic, discussion tool

Disadvantages - too many words on screen/typing, unrealistic (can’t use all senses, non-verbal communication, how you say things), relying on telling other nurse what to do - can’t actually do things

Questions we still have: Should we use Second Life to teach

decision-making? Does it teach the appropriate skills? Is it feasible in a large programme?

The Discussion

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Possible solutions/improvements to research further:

Assess student’s previous experience - training needs

The importance of making it more realistic

Using it as a tool to involve other students and qualified staff

The importance of feedback Introducing decision-making and/or

Second Life as a concept earlier on in the programme

The Discussion

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get a good photo from second life for here.

Questions