Nightmare on Main Street scenario
It's an appropriate topic for Halloween: the nightmare scenarios that can unfold when patient safety is not first and foremost in any health care setting. Nightmare on Main Street; wake up to patient safety, is the result of a partnership between the Health Sciences Education and Research Commons (HSERC), the Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI) and the Health Sciences Student Association (HSSA) at the University of Alberta. The event offers students from all health science faculties an opportunity to take part in simulation events that challenge them to identify and address patient safety concerns in both hospital and home care settings.
"This was the first exposure to simulation for some students so we tried to make the scenarios beneficial for learners of all the health professions - and at any level!" says Joe MacPherson, Simulation Specialist at HSERC. "I hope this opportunity will create excitement for participating in future simulation events, and help students gain an appreciation for how they and their fellow health science students can improve patient safety."
Nurse SueThe theme for the day was interprofessional communications, and students took part in scenarios where they were challenged to talk to other professionals or to patients/clients about patient safety. They were also exposed to some pretty serious mistakes: students watched in horror as "nurse Sue" washed her hands and dried them on the patient's sheets, tossed a used needle onto a littered tray and then used the patient's chest as a handy surface to store her stethoscope. Happily for us, these UofA students had little trouble spotting the errors. Of course, things are not always so obvious in the real world. "This event, held during Canadian Patient Safety Week, is a great opportunity to introduce students to patient safety concepts and issues," says Diane Aubin, the CPSI's Project Manager, Research. "It is so important to find creative ways like this to integrate patient safety into health students' curriculum, so they understand how they can help prevent patient safety incidents."
William Lau is the president of the HSSA. ""It was fun for sure, and it was a really valuable experience," he says. "When you know it's a simulation you can kind of laugh about it, but there's nothing funny about it when it's a real patient that's for sure. I hope they do this again and I'd encourage more students to take part. It's a great way to learn."
This was the pilot year for Nightmare on Main Street; watch for it again next year during Patient Safety Week 2013.
"This was the first exposure to simulation for some students so we tried to make the scenarios beneficial for learners of all the health professions - and at any level!" says Joe MacPherson, Simulation Specialist at HSERC. "I hope this opportunity will create excitement for participating in future simulation events, and help students gain an appreciation for how they and their fellow health science students can improve patient safety."
Nurse SueThe theme for the day was interprofessional communications, and students took part in scenarios where they were challenged to talk to other professionals or to patients/clients about patient safety. They were also exposed to some pretty serious mistakes: students watched in horror as "nurse Sue" washed her hands and dried them on the patient's sheets, tossed a used needle onto a littered tray and then used the patient's chest as a handy surface to store her stethoscope. Happily for us, these UofA students had little trouble spotting the errors. Of course, things are not always so obvious in the real world. "This event, held during Canadian Patient Safety Week, is a great opportunity to introduce students to patient safety concepts and issues," says Diane Aubin, the CPSI's Project Manager, Research. "It is so important to find creative ways like this to integrate patient safety into health students' curriculum, so they understand how they can help prevent patient safety incidents."
William Lau is the president of the HSSA. ""It was fun for sure, and it was a really valuable experience," he says. "When you know it's a simulation you can kind of laugh about it, but there's nothing funny about it when it's a real patient that's for sure. I hope they do this again and I'd encourage more students to take part. It's a great way to learn."
This was the pilot year for Nightmare on Main Street; watch for it again next year during Patient Safety Week 2013.