Simulation Ideas for Allied Health Programs

Written by

ChartFlow Team

Date published

January 7, 2023

Even since before the NCSBN’s landmark study, Allied Health programs have looked for ways to incorporate simulation into their curriculum.

The benefits are clear—Simulation allows students to practice and learn in a controlled environment, without the risks and consequences of working with real patients.

Simulation can take on many forms, including low-fidelity labs, high-fidelity manikins, and Virtual Reality (VR) Simulations.

Simulation Ideas

Here are a few ideas for incorporating simulation into Allied Health Programs in both low & high-fidelity environments.

While you can use any learning tool for these simulations (or even just pen & paper), we’ll mention how you can incorporate our academic EHR—ChartFlow.

Physical assessment

Simulation can be used to teach students how to perform physical assessments, such as taking vital signs or examining a patient's body systems. Manikins can be equipped with sensors that allow students to practice techniques, such as listening to breath sounds with a stethoscope, and receive feedback on their performance.

Programs without access to manikins can always have students practice on one another. In all cases, you can easily incorporate ChartFlow for students to not only practice documentation but also reviewing prior physical assessments to identify mistakes and think critically about the patient’s care.

Communication and teamwork

Simulation can be an excellent way to teach students how to communicate effectively with patients and healthcare professionals. Role-playing scenarios can be set up, where students practice speaking with patients, giving presentations, or working as part of a healthcare team. There are also a number of web-based and virtual simulations available for students to practice. While some are free, others do require a paid license.

With ChartFlow, we include a number of pre-built scenarios students can practice on both individually and in a group setting where patient data is shared. Instructors can also create their own customized Patients & Activities.

Emergency response

Simulation is often used to teach students how to handle emergency situations, such as cardiac arrest or trauma. High-fidelity simulators can replicate the sights, sounds, and pressure of a real emergency, allowing students to practice their skills and make decisions under realistic conditions. By incorporating our EHR, students can practice documenting and reviewing run-reports, especially in pressure situations.

Chronic disease management

Simulation can be used to teach students how to manage chronic diseases, such as diabetes or hypertension. Using ChartFlow, students can practice creating treatment plans, educating patients, and monitoring progress through simulated patient cases that last multiple hours, over days, or even over months—mimicking the type of day by day interaction they’ll have patients in a long-term care or hospice environment.

Procedure practice

We all know wound care, injections, and other skills are critical for many allied health professions. Simulation can be used to give students the opportunity to practice these procedures on simulated patients before attempting them on real ones. After students practice a procedure they can complete the workflow and document their actions in our interventions flowsheets.

Enhance Your Simulation Experience with ChartFlow

There are a number of high & low fidelity simulators available. Manikins, wearables, and other hardware is available for programs designing a modern & high-tech simulation lab. There are also a number of low-fidelity web-based options, that can both compliment the hardware and be used by students at home or in the classroom to enhance their learning. This is where we come in.

ChartFlow is an educational EHR that allows allied health programs and their students to practice scenarios both in the lab and at home. It provides a realistic and convenient way to improve student learning and prepare for real-world practice. While pen & paper are always available, incorporating an academic EHR allows students to mimic their future clinical experience, becoming more comfortable with navigating and documenting on complex systems.

Consider incorporating ChartFlow into your simulation training to take your program to the next level!

ChartFlow EHR Free Trial

We offer a free trial for Instructors looking to implement an academic EHR into their simulations. If you have any questions, feel free to email us at: hello@chartflow.io Try ChartFlow Free