Development of Foundational Communication
Introduction to Communication OER:
The Introduction to Communication in Nursing textbook (Lapum, St-Amant, Hughes, et al., 2020, August 14), is an open educational resource (OER) that is divided into three modules. This online textbook establishes the groundwork for effective nursing communication using best practice standards. The modules explore and analyze therapeutic communication, interviewing, and nursing-related interprofessional communication. Here is the LINK https://pressbooks.library.ryerson.ca/communicationnursing/
Interprofessional Virtual Gaming Simulation Resources
Social Work
Critical Reflective Child Welfare Decision-Making: A Virtual Game Simulation
This virtual game simulation comprises two case scenarios: 1) The Choy family, and 2) The Andrews-Wilson family. In the Choy case scenario, the child protection worker receives a referral from an 8 year old child’s school teacher with concern that the child disclosed she is scared to go home from school because she’s afraid her parents will hit and yell at her for her report card grades. In the Andrews-Wilson case scenario, the child protection worker receives a referral from the police regarding their response to a 10 year old and 7 year old left home alone overnight with the house door unlocked and the inability to locate their mother. Participants in both scenarios are to conduct a child protection investigative assessment and critically reflect upon their decision-making process. To access the virtual simulation, please email a request to Dr. Barbara Lee at B.Lee@ubc.ca. Here is the LINK: https://blogs.ubc.ca/socialworkeducation/
Nursing
Therapeutic Communication and Mental Health Assessment: A Home Visit
In this simulation game titled “Skills Practice: A Home Visit” (Toronto Metropolitan University, 2015), a nurse visits a client-patient at home on a scheduled appointment. The client-patient, a 10-year-old child, had surgery two days earlier. Some mental health problems are discovered during the visit, which may require the nurse to act or assist the mother of the client-patient. Three modules are also available for the student to read and review prior to playing the game. Here is the LINK: https://games.de.torontomu.ca/mental-health/game.html#/
Medical History Interview
The Medical History Interview virtual game simulation (Lapum, Hughes, Garmaise-Yee, et al., 2020), is a suitable choice for the GITCS© Tool. This video game is about a 70-year-old individual who had a recent surgical repair for a hip fracture. The client’s sibling has been assisting the client but has now left for a three-week business trip. The client will spend those three weeks in a retirement home until the sibling returns. The learners and participants of the game must determine the best communication approach the health care provider should use for a client who has been stigmatized and traumatized by prior events. Please note: This game’s discrimination-related theme may cause individuals to experience an emotional reaction, which may be disturbing for some viewers—Viewer discretion is advised. Here is the LINK: https://pressbooks.library.ryerson.ca/healthhistory/chapter/health-history-interview-game/
Safe Pharmacy
This is a Ryerson virtual game simulation called “Safe Pharmacy” (Marten-Daniel, Mastrilli, Ramnaraign, et al., n.d.). It is an appropriate option to be used in conjunction with the GITCS© Tool. The main focus of this game is therapeutic communication and team collaboration. A pharmacy serves as the setting for two interactions: the first is a conversation between the pharmacy assistant and the client, while the second is a discussion between the pharmacist and the pharmacy assistant. The client tells the pharmacy assistant she is dissatisfied with a medication she recently purchased for her son. The client does not believe the prescribed medication is benefiting her son. As the game progresses, the learner-participant will have the opportunity to select which therapeutic communication approaches can effectively manage and improve the interactions between the assistant pharmacist and the client, as well as between the pharmacist assistant and the pharmacist. Here is the LINK: https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/paie/chapter/safe-pharmacy-virtual-gaming-simulation/
Interprofessional Team Communication
The Teamworks: Interprofessional Collaboration (Marten-Daniel, A’Court, Demeris, et al., n.d.) virtual game is an appropriate choice for the GITCS© Tool. The central features of the game are: role of interprofessional team members, interprofessional communication, and team collaboration. The video begins with a client-patient, recuperating from recent hip and knee surgery, meeting an orthopaedic nurse for the first time. The client-patient’s partner is present and interacting with the nurse as well as the client-patient throughout the video.. Learners of the game must decide the best methods of communication the nurse should use with the client and the client’s partner. As the game progresses, an interprofessional team is accessed, and together they collaborate to create a client-patient discharge plan of care. One aspect of the preparation planning involves providing support to the partner who is caring for the client-patient. Here is the LINK: https://games.de.torontomu.ca/teamworks/#/
Breastfeeding History
A good option for applying the GITCS© Tool is this lactation simulation video by Liquid Gold Concept (2018). The main focus of the 6-minute video is a client-patient who enters a breastfeeding clinic and interacts with a healthcare professional. There is no opportunity for the learner-participant to interact with this video because it is not a game. However, the learner-participant has an opportunity to apply the GITCS© tool in order to assess the communication of the two individuals interacting in the video. Here is the LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=fq2gOhjoON4
Videos Synopses
Video #1—Interprofessional Education (IPE) Core Competency Domain 1: Values and Ethics
The professional ethics of four distinct healthcare providers (HCP) are highlighted in this 17-minute Interprofessional (IP) video by Texas Health IPE (2016). The qualifications of each HCP are presented, along with an explanation of how each area of expertise can be used to improve a client-patient’s health outcomes. The video also discusses the four core competency domains of interprofessional collaborative practice: (1) values and ethics; (2) roles and responsibilities; (3) interprofessional communication; (4) teams and teamwork. The HCP team’s primary focus in this video is the management of a cancer client-patient’s decision to discontinue their treatment regimen, and the client-patient’s daughter who disagrees with the decision. The video emphasizes the importance of collaboration, overcoming ethical challenges, and respecting another person’s diversity, distinct culture, values, and beliefs. Although this is not an interactive game, the dialogue illustrated in this video may be beneficial for the GITCS© Tool since it demonstrates essential interprofessional communication. Here is the LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7–0Igd0bQ
Video #2—Ethical Considerations for Interprofessional Collaboration (IPC).
Collinsworth et al. (2017) explores the importance of using effective, ethical communication and creating strategies for ethical interprofessional collaborative practice in this 10-minute narrative video. It also examines potential ethical problems that may arise from professional collaboration. The video concludes with an action plan for developing ethical interprofessional collaboration practice and addressing some of the ethical dilemmas and challenges faced by healthcare interprofessionals. Here is the LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fx9PYhG-UOw
Additional Learning Resources
Other resources, as examples, include a variety of assessment tools for interprofessional teams (Wooding et al., 2020).
There is upcoming technology that comes with a cost such as the USC Standard Client-Patient: https://www.standardpatient.org/ which is a Virtual Standardized Client-Patient community with avatars that can provide backgrounds and histories for medical students to pose clinical questions. This takes a more biomedical and clinical focus versus a focus on the non-technical skill of the process of therapeutic communication.
Even more costly communication and assessment virtual client-patient simulations with avatars exist including the PCS: https://www.pcs.ai/blog/the-patient-communication-simulator-standardized-training-of-patient-communication-techniques-with-advanced-simulation-technology but the expenses are significant.
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