Faculty ToolKit for GITCS

General Information
The Global Interprofessional Therapeutic Communication Scale (GITCS) is a 28-Item assessment instrument (tool) designed to identify therapeutic from non-therapeutic communication between health-social care providers and their clients-patients. The GITCS Interactive Text and the GITCS-Virtual Gaming Simulation (GITCS-VGS) serve as the foundational instructional materials for therapeutic communication and are appropriate for use by a wide range of social and health care disciplines. The Faculty Toolkit provides guidance to faculty members who use the GITCS and the GITCS-VGS for student instruction.

The GITCS Interactive Text is an open education resource (OER) that aims to give health and social care disciplines effective opportunities to develop skills for therapeutic communication. This OER Text describes how the GITCS 28-Item assessment tool evaluates client-patient communication with their social-health care providers and determines whether the interaction includes therapeutic communication.

After completing the GITCS Interactive Text, students have the opportunity to use the 28-item GITCS assessment tool by applying it to the GITCS-VGS Interactive Video. Faculty and students can use the GITCS tool to assess their own abilities for therapeutic communication or gauge how well other social-health care providers interact with their clients-patients. This tool also enables faculty to evaluate the therapeutic communication skills of their students.

The GITCS Interactive Text, the GITCS-VGS Interactive Video, and the GITCS 28-Item Assessment Instrument are all protected under the Canadian Copyright Act.

When copying or duplicating any documents, text, graphics, diagrams, or other components, we asked that you please credit the original source. We would be grateful if faculty could remind their students about the copyright protection of our materials. More details about copyright are Available Here. Creative Commons Permissions & Terms can be found Here.

Survey Participation
The GITCS Interactive Text is intended to assist students in communicating more effectively with clients-patients in a social and health care setting. We are offering anyone who has completed the GITCS Interactive Text and accompanying GITCS-VGS the opportunity to voluntarily participate in a study. Individuals who have completed the Interactive Text and VGS will be given the opportunity to complete a brief survey (5 to 10 minutes long) and leave their comments. [Survey Link]. Participation in the survey is completely voluntary and anonymous; faculty members will not know who did or did not participate, and it will not affect a student’s course grade. A consent form will be provided to students at the beginning of the survey, asking their permission to participate. If you have any questions or concerns, please send them directly to suzanne.campbell@ubc.ca.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
A FAQs site has been established in order to address some common questions users (students) might have concerning the GITCS Interactive Text and the GITCS-VGS. We recommend students visit the FAQs site for additional details about the GITCS instrument; student’s role; gender, diversity, and inclusion; potential triggers; and other related information. We suggest students consider sharing their experience by providing feedback on the survey provided to them at the end of the VGS. The comments from the survey will help us address any issues and concerns. [FAQs LINK].

Faculty Toolkit for GITCS
The Faculty Toolkit was designed to aid faculty members in supporting the growth and development of their students’ therapeutic communication skills. The toolkit guides faculty through the GITCS Interactive Text by highlighting the important elements of each chapter and offering essential information that faculty will need to assist their students in successfully mastering the key elements of therapeutic communication.

Link to the Global Interprofessional Therapeutic Communication Scale (GITCS) Interactive Text—3 Chapters

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION TO
THERAPEUTIC COMMUNICATION
WITH INTERPROFESSIONAL LENS

Learning Outcomes
By the end of this chapter, you will:

1. Access foundational communication knowledge required to prepare for client-patient-provider interactions.
2. Apply principles of client-patient-provider communication during an interactive video.
3. Use GITCS to evaluate an interactive video of a client-patient-provider interaction.

Purpose of GITCS
Language, culture, access to health and social care, technology, as well as inequalities and disparities are a few of the elements that contribute to communication challenges and inadequate interactions in social and health care. The GITCS 28-Item instrument (tool), which assesses the therapeutic communication between the client-patient and their provider, has been organized into six key areas: (1) setting the stage; (2) building trust; (3) active communication; (4) communication skills; (5) client-patient-centred care; and (6) potential barriers. Students will need to understand these key areas and how they relate to evaluating client-patient-provider interactions if they are to utilize this tool effectively. The GITCS -VGS gives students the opportunity to practice using the 28-Item tool in order to measure the level of therapeutic communication present in each interaction. Through repeated practice and appropriate application of the GITCS tool, students and faculty members can build and improve their therapeutic communication skills.

• Building Foundations in Communication contains the Key Takeaways for Chapters 1, Chapter 2, and Chapter 3. [Link].
• Introduction to the Scale includes background information on the GITCS 28-Item assessment tool, instructional and communication resources.[Link].
• Scoring Using the GITCS provides a descriptive rubric as well as the GITCS analog scale and scoring. [Link].

GITCS Scoring Information
The GITCS scale is meant to be used as a “formative” evaluation rather than a “summative”, since it is possible that students may perform a skill well in one interaction but need to make improvements for that same skill in another. As the therapeutic value of an interaction increases, so does its score; while on the other hand, as the score of an interaction drops, so does its therapeutic value. Students who use the GITCS 28-Item assessment tool to help them practice therapeutic communication are able to focus on the core competencies that need to be strengthened. The scoring analog for the GITCS tool gives students the ability to monitor their progress in therapeutic communication. If their score rises, their skills are improving; if it decreases, they will need to work on developing that competency.

The Interactive Text includes the GITCS 28-Item assessment tool form document with an explanation of the scoring, and an analog scale indicating the following: 0 (non-therapeutic communication) to 10 (extremely therapeutic communication). [Link].

Different Options for GITCS Scoring
Faculty members can also choose to specify what they consider therapeutic, partly therapeutic, and nontherapeutic communication based on the student cohort and the data to be gathered. Moreover, faculty could also opt to: (1) calculate the student’s score based on a percentage (which takes into account the entire number of questions answered) or (2) calculate the average score of the student (please note: non-applicable questions must be removed before calculating).

Applying GITCS to Learning Activities
One of the learning activities in this section includes a supplemental video that provides students with an opportunity to practise using the GITCS 28-Item Assessment Instrument. The video starts and stops at predetermined intervals, is synchronised to specific interactions, and includes questions that align with the 28-Item tool. Link to Video. In the video, a health care professional visits a client-patient at home. The interactions may be stopped, paused, and replayed, just as the questions can be answered more than once. No time limit applies; each student works at their own speed. For your convenience, the GITCS 28-Item Assessment Tool is available as a Downloadable & Printable English Version and Downloadable  & Printable French-Translated Version.

CHAPTER 2
INCORPORATING INTERPROFESSIONALS
DEVELOPMENT & IMPLEMENTATION

Learning Outcomes
By the end of this chapter, you will:

1. Review entry level competencies for therapeutic communication in their profession.
2. Review examples of therapeutic communication across health professions.
3. Interpret communication skills using the GITCS.

Communication Competencies Across Health and Social Care
The value of integrating communication skills into the social and health care professions is emphasized in this section. Individuals who are adept at appropriate and effective communication build trusting relationships, which can lead to more favourable outcomes for the client-patient’s overall health and well-being.

The entry-level competencies for: health care assistants, medicine, nursing, paramedicine, pharmacy, physiotherapy, interprofessional practice, occupational therapist, dietician, social work, dentistry, and dental hygienists are located Here.

Implementation Strategies provides opportunities for the GITCS located Here.

Interprofessional Communication Resources. [Link].

CHAPTER 3
APPLYING GITCS
VIRTUAL GAMING SIMULATION (VGS)

Learning Outcomes
By the end of this chapter, you will:

1. Utilise entry level competencies for therapeutic communication in your profession.
2. Interact with a virtual simulation game.
3. Review virtual simulation examples of therapeutic communication curriculum across health professions.
4. Integrate interprofessional curriculum for therapeutic communication into a virtual gaming simulation wireframe.
5. Design level communication curriculum across their health professional program to prepare their students for their role with patients using effective therapeutic communication.
6. Adopt the Healthcare Simulation Standards of Best Practice^TM 1 within the curriculum and during the planning of virtual gaming simulation.

GITCS-VGS Learning Objectives:
By the end of this Virtual Game Simulation, you will:

1. Select communication responses that promote rapport building within the client-provider relationship. [Setting the stage; Building Trust].
2. Utilise effective communication skills during a client-provider interaction. [Active communication skills; Communication skills].
3. Respond to client concerns using a patient-centred and trauma-informed practice approach. [Patient-centred; Avoiding potential barriers].

Play the Interactive Video Game [Access to VGS]
The GITCS-VGS Interactive Video is intended to serve as a benchmark for assessing a health or social care provider’s initial encounter with a client-patient.

• In the game, the GITCS 28-Item assessment tool is used to ensure that therapeutic communication is executed effectively and meets the needs of the client-patient.
• The VGS Interactive was created with the intention of making the student a player, an active participant, and a learner, with their role being unique to their field of study in social-health care.
• There are five distinct interactions between the Student Health Care Provider (SHCP) and the Client-patient Priya (CLT).
• Students have the opportunity to evaluate their understanding of therapeutic communication along with their experience using the GITCS tool. Students are prompted with multiple-choice questions after each interaction. Each multiple-choice question requires the student to choose the best answer. An answer and rationale are given. If a student does not pick the best option, they are able to view the interaction again and then select another answer.
• There are no time limits, the game can be paused, and students can play at their own pace. However, if players opt to exit or refresh the game, when they rejoin, the game will restart from the beginning.

Preparation and Follow-up for Interactive Text and VGS Video
We propose several strategies that, if implemented, can enhance the learning outcomes for students. Faculty who provide pre-and-post briefings, foster a psychologically safe learning environment, and alert students to potential triggers will aid in the academic success of their students. Here are a few suggestions:

Pre-briefing Suggestions
Faculty can direct students to the resources offered in the Interactive Text in order to prepare them for the VGS.

Faculty may want to consider conducting a short pre-test and/or having a brief class discussion in order to gauge students’ current understanding of therapeutic communication.

Debriefing Suggestions
Faculty may want to explore the following debriefing approaches:

• Ask students what they learned and whether they would do things differently going forward.
• Encourage students to self-reflect on their learning and experience.
• Choose to give students a post-test in order to assess their knowledge—the results can be compared to those from the pre-test.
• Consider a post-learning discussion with students. Some suggestions for discussion are: (i) student’s grasp of the subject matter (Interactive Text, VGS Interactive Video, and use of the GITCS assessment tool); (ii) if students had any issues or problems; and (iii) whether students had any questions.
• Faculty can advise students that proper application of the GITCS tool and repeated practice can improve and strengthen their capacity for therapeutic communication. PEARLS’ Reflective Learning – Simulation Debriefing Link ²
  

Psychological Safe Learning Suggestions
If faculty members decide to have a class discussion (pre-briefing and/or debriefing sessions) with students, consider the value of providing an environment that is psychologically safe, trusting, and supportive for the students.

• Faculty can promote a psychologically safe environment by telling students that it is okay to make mistakes, learn from their mistakes, and then move forward to success.
• Zieber and Williams (2015)³ have suggested that students should be prompted to actively look for risks to patient safety rather than focus on avoiding a mistake.
• “Take chances, make mistakes, and get messy!”—Miss Frizzle⁴

^{1 INACSL Standards Committee. (2021). Healthcare Simulation Standards of Best PracticeTM. Clinical Simulation in Nursing. https://www.inacsl.org/healthcare-simulation-standards}

^{2 Eppich, W., & Cheng, A. (2015). Promoting excellence and reflective learning in simulation (PEARLS): Development and rationale for a blended approach to health care simulation debriefing. Simulation in Healthcare, 10(2), 106–115. https://doi.org/10.1097/SIH.0000000000000072}

^{3 Zieber, M. P., & Williams, B. (2015). The experience of nursing students wh0 make mistakes in clinical. International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship, 12(1), 1-9.}

^{4 Baron, M. (2020). Best Miss Frizzle quotes from the magic school bus.https://bookriot.com/best-miss-frizzle-quotes/}

SUMMARY

Final Key Takeaways are located Here.

APPENDIX A
DEVELOPMENT OF FOUNDATIONAL COMMUNICATION

In Appendix A, there are eight video resources to help with the development of therapeutic communication [Link]; two of the materials are instructional, while the other six are meant to be used with the GITCS 28-item assessment tool.

Two Instructional Videos contain further information about (1) interprofessional collaboration, and (2) interprofessional principles and ethics.

Six Interprofessional Simulation Videos depict staged situations between clients-patients and various social-health providers in a range of settings. Students can obtain practice opportunities evaluating therapeutic communication and using the GITCS  28-Item assessment tool by viewing these six videos.

To Faculty Members:
Thank you for incorporating
the GITCS 28-Item Assessment Instrument,
the GITCS Interactive Text,
and the GITCS-VGS Interactive Video
into your course content.

^{5 Harrison, S., Simcoe, J., Smith, D., & Stein, J. (2018). Pulling together: A guide for leaders and administrators. https://opentextbc.ca/indigenizationleadersadministrators/}

^{6 UBC Faculty of Education. (2022). Decolonizing teaching Indigenizing learning. https://indigenizinglearning.educ.ubc.ca/}

^{7 UBC Faculty of Education. (2021). Anti-Racism awareness online course. https://pdce.educ.ubc.ca/anti-racism-awareness/}

^{8 CASN. (2023). Sexual orientation gender identity nursing (SOGI). https://soginursing.ca/index.php/modules/educators/}

^{9 UBC Equity & Inclusion Office. (2023). Gender diversity. https://equity.ubc.ca/resources/gender-diversity/}

^{10 UBC Faculty of Medicine. (2023). Respectful environments, equity, diversity & inclusion (REDI).https://redi.med.ubc.ca/}