Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
empathetic atmosphere. A non-threatening atmo-
sphere can be reinforced by the knowledge that the
educational process is confidential (if it is) and this
may encourage solicitation of the student's honest
appraisal of the team and individual capabilities,
strengths and weaknesses.
The ability to capture the interest, enthusiasm
and participation of the students should occur in
the first few moments following cessation of the
clinical scenario. A brief summation of the clinical
scenario with an expression of gratitude for the
student's participation in an upbeat manner may
be a good introduction to the debriefing session.
Following this, the instructor should seek feed-
back from the students about their own perfor-
mance, either individually or as a group, what were
their strengths and weaknesses, would they change
anything if confronted with the same scenario
again. The debriefing discussion should be guided
by the instructor to maintain focus on the subject
matter and one should focus on the significant
value in supporting the student's active participa-
tion in their own critique.
The instructor may have a pronounced impact
on the absorption of course material by the student.
The delivery of the material may be affected
by one's tone of voice, clarity of voice, facial
and body mannerisms, demeanor, and pleasant-
ness (or the lack there of). Many other factors
may influence the success or failure of student
learning including the student's attention span,
absorption pattern of course material, enthusiasm
for simulation and his willingness to partake
in the current or future simulations. Portrayal
of confidence, compassion and leadership in
a non-confrontational manner balanced with a
constructive critiquing style creates a more favor-
able atmosphere for learning [17].
The commencement of debriefing/reflection
may be at the conclusion of the scenario or
the scenario may “freeze” (pause) to emphasize
teaching points, defuse a deteriorating situation,
redirect the students or limit student embar-
rassment or frustration. If the simulated clinical
case is brief (5 minutes) then concluding with
debriefing may be the best approach. Interruption
with verbal redirection or explanation may be best
to improve the simulation experience and to opti-
mize the educational benefits if the scenario is
attended by junior or less experienced students
or the clinical case is of extended duration (>20
minutes) [3,17,18]. However, experienced, senior
level trainees may be best left alone to complete
their clinical scenario to be followed by an in depth
debriefing and reflection on their actions, behavior,
and responses.
Videotape analysis is a very useful compo-
nent of debriefing for both the instructor and the
student. A recording of the session for review
of the entire scenario or only for the review of
a particular action performed or decision made
during the scenario can be invaluable. Student may
deny or refute actions, behaviors or comments
made during the scenario or may display disbelief
with the instructors' assessment of their perfor-
mance. Conversely, video recordings can be used
to illustrate examples of communication, team-
work, leadership, critical thinking, and problem
solving. A recorded video provides hard data that
may be archived for review and comparison at
a later time [19-21]. Below is listed a group
of educational based terms often witnessed by
the instructor during a simulation based teaching
scenario (Figure 20.3). These are key elements that
the educators must appreciate to better understand
the art of teaching and learning when dealing with
a wide range of students with varying abilities,
understanding, defense mechanisms and under-
standing of the course material [22].
20.6 Crew Resource Management
The basis for coalescing a group of individ-
uals to work together in a constructive, efficient
and effective manner is the optimal objective of
nearly any industry or business. Putting together a
selection of intelligent, well-trained workers, staff
members, specialists, professionals, experts or a
group of diversely educated and skilled personnel
may be painstaking and time consuming, some-
times with less than optimal output. Consider
the time and effort professional sport teams put
into fundamentals, teamwork and constant drilling
and practice. They condition in the off-season,
