Freeze Frame & Virtual Simulated Participants

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Freeze Frame Introduction

Avkin’s Virtual Simulated Participant (SP) Solution is an opportunity to have students learn in a virtual capacity with live interactions. Our Standardized Patients are trained to portray various patients to bring your simulations to life. Avkin’s virtual offering emphasizes the debriefing process and getting one-on-one feedback from the patient. While there are several ways to implement virtual Standardized Patients, the freeze frame is a powerful tool for new learners to work with each other and maximize the learning opportunities possible within the simulation.

So, how does it work?

Step 1: Finding Your Simulation

When you purchase an Avkin Virtual Simulated Participant Solution, it will start with a consultation call with our education team. Since this is not a prepackaged simulation, it gives your team the opportunity to develop a simulation based on your patient population. Your learners receive a unique opportunity to have live interactions focused on common patient mistakes or low-frequency, high-risk situations, all in a safe learning environment. To maximize the learning experience the objectives should be focused on communication, patient teaching, or difficult conversations. 

Avkin will develop a rich character description to make sure that each experience is tailored to your program needs. Each Standardized Patient has been trained on standardization, feedback, and professionalism. Our education team will conduct a dress rehearsal to train the Standardized Patients on your institution’s custom medical simulation. 

Step 2 Dry Run

Dry Runs are considered a best practice for simulated medical education. Before the simulation experience, a virtual dry run will be conducted with the standardized patients, the Avkin education team, and your simulation team present. 

Learner volunteers who have already passed the course will act as learners for the dry run. Avkin will then prebrief the volunteers and provide the standardized patient for the dry run. The volunteers and the standardized patient will run through the simulation as if it were a real experience. All simulation and clinical faculty present will have their sound muted and video off during the simulation experience. Observers will make notes of simulation objectives, level of difficulty, and the character’s emotional responses. 

After the simulation is finished, the standardized patient will turn their camera off. Observers are then able to ask questions of the volunteers as well as share their comments on changes they would like to make. All parties will agree to the changes in the simulation and specify who will make those changes. After the dry run, the simulation will be finalized and sent out to all parties.

Step 3: Prebrief and Logistics

On the day of simulation students, faculty, and the standardized patient will sign into zoom. The standardized patient will be muted with their camera off while the faculty prebriefs the learners on the simulation. There should be NO reference to them as an actor and they should only be discussed as the patient or the name of the patient. Faculty will explain the flow of the experience in the prebrief so there is no confusion during the simulation. After the prebrief is concluded the faculty then will ask if the students have any questions before they start. After all questions are answered, the faculty will identify the first student to interact with the patient.

Step 4: Freezeframe interaction

When the simulation starts, the first learner will leave their camera and microphones on. The rest of the learners and faculty will turn off their camera and microphones. Once this occurs, the standardized patient will turn on their camera and microphone. They will then start by saying hello, to which the learner will introduce him/herself as if they were walking into a patient’s room. Then, the virtual simulation experience begins…

After the allotted time, the faculty member will call freeze and the standardized patient will turn off their camera and microphone. Everyone else will turn on their cameras and they will then have a mini debriefing session between the learners and faculty. After the mini debrief, the faculty member will assign the next learner who will continue the interaction where the previous learner left off. Like before, learners and faculty will turn off their cameras and microphones and the standardized patient will turn theirs on. This process will conclude once all learners have had the opportunity to interact with the patient.

If learners feel stuck or have a question, they are also able to freeze the interaction. This will prompt the simulation to stop, allowing faculty to answer questions and begin the mini debrief session.

Step 5: Mini Debriefing and Feedback

During each mini debriefing session, faculty will allow the learners to ask questions and discuss their takeaways from the interaction. Faculty will guide the conversation and other students can add recommendations and perspectives. Faculty should end the mini debrief by asking where the conversation should go next or if there are any unanswered questions. That will transition the next learner into their interaction with the patient. 

Feedback will happen after all learners have interacted with the patient. The standardized patient will turn on their camera and introduce themselves if requested. They will be out of character during the feedback. The standardized patient will then provide one positive and one constructive comment for each learner from their interaction. After feedback is delivered the standardized patient will ask if there are any questions they can answer. Learners will then have a unique opportunity to ask their patient if they could have done something differently or how the patient felt in specific moments. The standardized patient will give feedback from the patient’s perspective focusing strictly on how the patient felt. After all questions are answered, the standardized patient will sign off and faculty will wrap up the interaction.

While there are several options for virtual medical education available, Avkin’s Virtual Standardized Patient Solution is the only one implementing real live humans.

To learn more about Avkin’s Virtual Standardized Patient Solution, or to schedule a meeting to learn more, click here.

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