“We are actually being involved in management of the patient”: A qualitative exploration of experiences of students and faculty regarding the use of clinical simulation in Busitema University and Lira University

TL;DR

This study explores how students and faculty in Uganda use clinical simulation in education, highlighting benefits and concerns about realism and skill transfer.

Contribution

The study provides insights into clinical simulation experiences in low-resource settings where it is not widely adopted.

Findings

Simulation is perceived as beneficial for skill acquisition and confidence building.

Concerns about realism and the transferability of simulation skills to real clinical settings were noted.

Improvisation and demonstration are key aspects of simulation in these settings.

Abstract

Experiences regarding the use of simulation in low-resource settings like Uganda where it has not taken root have not been explored. The purpose of the study was to explore the experiences of students, clinical staff, and faculty regarding the use of clinical simulation in teaching undergraduate students.

The study was conducted at Busitema and Lira Universities in Uganda. We conducted 20 in-depth interviews with the faculty staff and 10 focused group discussions with undergraduate Nursing, Midwifery, Medical and Anesthesia students. The study obtained ethical clearance from the Busitema University Research and Ethics Committee (BUFHS-2023–78) and Uganda National Council of Science and Technology (HS3027ES). Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data

Four themes emerged from the data. Simulation was seen to be about improvising and (return) demonstration. Concerns of realism were expressed including notions that simulation was not real, that simulation felt real and the extreme end that simulation tends to present the ideal setting. Perceived benefits of simulation include room for mistakes and immediate feedback, enhanced confidence and self-efficacy, enhanced acquisition of soft and clinical skills, prepares students for clinical placement, convenient and accessible. Concerns were expressed related to whether skills in clinical simulation would translate to clinical competence in the clinical setting

Students perceived simulation to be beneficial. However, concerns about realism and transferability of skills to clinical settings were noted. Clarifying preconceived notions against the use of clinical simulation will enhance its utilization in educational settings where simulation is not readily embraced.