Simulation-based education at Edinburgh Napier
Professor Cathal Breen* hosted the Clinical Skills Managed Educational Network (scot.nhs.uk) (CSMEN) at Edinburgh Napier for a review meeting in May.
CSMEN was established in 2007 to support excellence in clinical skills education. The Network connects people and organisations involved in health and social care to enable collaboration for a “Once for Scotland” approach to skills and simulation-based learning. Their vision is “world-leading facilitation of skills and simulation training”, and members of the network have found visits to be helpful in exploring how academic educational institutions and centres of clinical excellence can work better together; building relationships; and discovering how CSMEN support Scotland’s centres.
A newly initiated project, Simulation Resources in Scotland | Clinical Skills Managed E. is developing a detailed inventory of the simulation equipment resources available in Scotland. It aligns to several of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals, and is currently recruiting academic education institutions.
Professor Cathal Breen, one of the first invited participants for the new project, said: “The current project builds upon the success of the original, produced to outline the current equipment and course availability in the Scottish territorial health boards. That work was seen as a first step to providing a detailed inventory of the resources available in Scotland.”
Following the visit to Edinburgh Napier, Karen Wiley, CSMEN Network Co-Ordinator, stated: “We were really impressed. The space [at Edinburgh Napier] is amazing and flexible too”.
The visit to Edinburgh Napier was also an opportunity to celebrate the news that Catie Paton has been newly appointed CSMEN Clinical Lead.
Watch as Stuart Martin, Lecturer for the MN Mental Health Nursing programme talks about the course and how the students benefit from time to practise clinical skills in the Simulation and Clinical Skills Centre.
*Professor Breen is an inaugural Professor of Simulation & Clinical Skills and clinical scientist of Cardiac Physiology, specialising in cardiac arrhythmia and structural diagnoses. He is a registered member of the NIHR Incubator for Clinical Education Research (Prof Cathal Breen – Incubator for Clinical Education Research) to support and promote careers in clinical education research and build a multi-professional community of practice in this space. He has been awarded an Education and Teaching Award from the Physiological Society, 2023, designed to support members wishing to develop new educational resources or conduct a piece of publishable educational research that addresses a key question in physiological education. His project, entitled “An Evaluation Of HeARtbeat augmented reality smartphone application for 12 lead ECG electrode placement teaching to health and social care pre-registration students”, is in collaboration with the Wander Labe at Wagenheim University & Research, the Netherlands (Education and Teaching Award winners – The Physiological Society (physoc.org)). It represents the digital clinical skills strategy he is leading on, to deliver simulation-based education globally from Edinburgh Napier through continuing professional development.