A practical guide for translating in-person simulation curriculum to telesimulation

Abstract

This article provides a road map, along with recommendations, for the adoption and implementation of telesimulation at a large scale. We provide tools for translating an in-presence simulation curriculum into a telesimulation curriculum using a combination off-the-shelf telecommunication platform. We also describe the roles and tasks that emerged within the simulation team when planning and delivering a telesimulation curriculum.

Keywords: COVID-19; Simulation; Standardized patients; Teledebriefing; Telesimulation.

Fig. 1

Standardized patient telesimulation curriculum

Fig. 2

Process for planning and delivering telesimulation activities for big cohorts at the University of Montreal

Fig. 3

Example of a flowchart of the Zoom™ virtual environment with two scenarios. 1 Participants enter the waiting room of the Zoom session 15 min before the simulation starts. Instructors and team members enter main room before the students. 2 Once all the students scheduled for the simulation are in the waiting room, they are all brought to the main session at once. In the main session, there are a 15 min introduction where instructors present the objectives of the activity, the logistics, and the technological instructions. A list with the division of groups and the roles assigned to each participant appears on the screen. 3 The participants are sent to the breakout rooms to encounter the first scenario. The communication scenario should last 10 min, and the teledebriefing 15 min. At 29 min, the Zoom operator sends a message to all the breakout rooms announcing that there is 1 min remaining before the breakout rooms are closed, and all participants are brought to the main session. 4 A plenary with all the instructors initiates and participants are asked to share the key messages discussed in each group. At the end of the plenary, the instructor introduces the context of the second scenario and the assignation of students’ roles. 5 The groups remain the same, and the second scenario starts. The only participants who change breakout room are the SPs. Once again, the scenario should last 10 min, and the teledebriefing last 15 min. Zoom operator sends a cue message announcing that instructors have 1 min before the breakout rooms close. 6 All participants from the different breakout rooms are brought to the main session, and once again, a plenary with all the instructors and students is done. Once the participants are accepted into the main session, the telesimulation should last 85 min in total

Fig. 4

Excel worksheet canvas showing the detailed schedule for the telesimulation activities. This schedule was done 1 month ahead to plan the distribution of the resources. It was also used by the Zoom™ operators during the meeting to manually create the breakout rooms

Fig. 5

Excel canvas of the list of resources needed for each telesimulation according to the number of students