Supplementing acute care clinical education experiences with simulation-based learning: a pilot study

Rationale: Physical therapist (PT) educational programs must prepare students to practice across the continuum of care, but students often lack confidence in the acute care setting. The purpose of this report is to describe a pilot study aimed at exploring a simulation-based learning experience (SBLE) as a complement to an acute care clinical experience (CE) and its effect on student performance and confidence. Methods: In this quasi-experimental cohort pilot study, the performance and confidence of three students (intervention group-IG) participating in a supplemental SBLE, while completing their final CE in an acute care setting, were compared to six students (control group-CG) who did not participate in the SBLE. The Acute Care Confidence Survey and the Clinical Performance Instrument (CPI) 2.0 were utilized to assess four learning competencies: Safety, Communication, Patient Management, and Clinical Reasoning. Results: At midterm and final CPI ratings, the IG showed a trend towards higher scores than the CG in 60% of the relevant categories. Participants in the IG showed similar confidence scores to participants in the CG at the end of the CE. Discussion and conclusion: This project provided an opportunity for students to self-reflect as part of the SBLE on their patient management, in the acute care setting, with guidance by faculty. This project adds to the evidence on how simulation-based learning can complement physical therapy clinical education.