By David K. Brown
This article is a part of the September/October 2017, Volume 29, Volume 5, Audiology Today issue.
Simulation is used in many different professions for training, and assessing knowledge and skills. Although medicine has been using some type of simulation for centuries, it was the aviation field that pioneered its use back in the 1930s. They led the way by training pilots in flight simulators to allow them a safe and controlled environment in which to practice maneuvers and flying in conditions that they could not otherwise experience.
The first medical simulator was Resusci Anne, developed in the 1960s. It allowed individuals to practice prior to seeing critically ill patients. In the past 45 years, the number of publications per year on this topic has increased 80-fold and so have the number of fields that have embraced the use of simulation in the training of their professionals. It has become common place in universities and hospitals to have special facilities and equipment to train and assess staff and students. However, many audiology training programs have been slow to embrace the use of simulation in any form.
The key to simulation is that it allows the student to separate the equipment or test from the patient. In this way, it allows the student to practice and make mistakes in a safe environment without concern for patient comfort or risk (Barrows, 1993; Ziv et al, 2003). Manikins do not care how many times you need to repeat a procedure until you feel comfortable performing the test. Working with actors who portray patients’ means that you will not compromise patient care when trying to develop communication skills and other techniques.
Simulation allows students to be able to learn a technique and practice it repeatedly until they feel comfortable and are prepared to be assessed on that skill. They can practice the same test on various pieces of equipment until they are proficient with that equipment. Most training programs do not have ready access to patients with a variety of disorders, such as acoustic neuroma, but they can through simulation. Parents will not allow you to practice on their newborn until you are competent conducting a threshold auditory brainstem response (ABR), but manikins do not complain.
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